
diss (LT 







1^ 




CORRESPONDENCE 



EDWAED BEOOKS AND JOHN A. LOWELL, 



I^B REMARKS BY EDWARD BROOKS, 

■i. 



E£F£BEIXO TO 



DOCUMENTS ANNEXED. 



BOSTON: 

DICKINSON PRINTING ESTABLISHJIENT . . . . DAMRELL & MOORE, 
No. 52 Washington Steeet. 

1847. . 






CORRESPONDENCE 



EDWARD BROOKS AND JOHN A. LOWELL, 



REMARKS BY EDWARD BROOKS, 



EBFEEEINO TO 



DOCUMENTS ANNEXED. 



BOSTON: 

PRINTED BY S. N. DICKINSON. 

1847. 






Gift 



REMARKS AND CORRESPONDENCE. 



Circumstances, much to be regretted, have placed me in an 
unpleasant relation towards Mr. John A. Lowell, which, in my 
own judgment and that of intelligent friends, requires this form 
of explanation. I have taken the step with great reluctance, 
both because of the friendship which had long subsisted be- 
tween that gentleman and myself, and because it involves dis- 
closures of private matters, which, on many accounts, I should 
have preferred to avoid. But, it will be perceived, that no alter- 
native is left me, except submitting to imputations equally unjust 
and discreditable. 

The persons to whom I shall submit these pages have, already, 
a general knowledge of many of the facts staled. Others they 
must be quite unacquainted with ; nor do they, probably, bear in 
mind the dates, order, and connection of events, which, at the 
time, were known to them. For the sake of distinctness and 
perspicuity I shall make the statement, therefore, as if I were 
addressing strangers. 

I married a daughter of Mrs. Boott, in 1821. The family then 
consisted of my much respected mother-in-law, and a number of 
her children who lived with her, and others who had been mar- 
ried and separated from the family household. The father had 
died several years before, leaving a large family, and what was 
then reputed a large estate. One of the daughters had married 
Mr. William Wells, now living at Cambridge. The late Mr. 
William Lyman, and Mr. Robert Ralston of Philadelphia, 
married other daughters. The sons were the late Mr. John 
Wright Boott, who lived unmarried with his mother ; the late 
Mr. Kirk Boott, of Lowell ; Dr. Francis Boott, of London ; Mr. 
James Boott, and Mr. William Boott, both unmarried and in- 
mates of their mother's household. These persons constituted, 
at that time and for many years after, a happy and united family 
in all its branches. 



I shall have occasion, also, to allude to relations of a business 
character. Mr. John Wright Boott, or Mr. Wright Boott, as he 
was more usually called, was the eldest son, and had been a part- 
ner with his father for some time before the death of the latter, 
under the firm of Kirk Boott and Sons. One of the other sons, 
Dr. Francis Boott, had been for a short period connected with the 
firm. But it devolved on Mr. Wright Boott solely, by the author- 
ity of his father's will, and the withdrawal of Mr., now Dr., Fran- 
cis Boott, to liquidate its concerns. There was afterwards a new 
house, composed of several of the sons, which carried on business 
under the old firm. Upon its dissolution, Mr. John A. Lowell, 
who had been in their counting-room, formed a partnership with 
Mr. Wright Boott, under the firm of Boott & Lowell, which suc- 
ceeded to the business. This last house was not of very long 
duration ; but it gave rise to a particular intimacy, which has 
since, at different times, occasioned Mr. Lowell to take part, as 
the adviser and friend of Mr. Wright Boott, in certain matters 
of family interest. 

After the dissolution of the firm of Boott & Lowell, Mr. 
Wright Boott was engaged in no regular pursuit, until about 
the year 1826, when he joined his brothers-in-law. Mess. Lyman 
and Ralston, in a branch of iron manufacture, carried on under 
the name of the Boston Iron Foundry, or more commonly called, 
from the location of the establishment, the Mill-Dam Foundry. 
It was an unsuccessful experiment, in which Mr. Wright Boott 
invested and sunk a very large sum. His connection with that 
concern came to an end about the year 1831. He engaged 
in no other business during the residue of his life; but occu- 
pied himself at home with books, and botanical studies, and 
the pursuit of some mechanic arts, for which he had a turn, and 
the cultivation of a garden and green-house. The latter he was 
particularly fond of. He never, at any period of his life, went 
much into society, — for many years not at all, — and latterly he 
was scarcely known to many persons out of his own family. 

The mother and unmarried members of this family continued 
to live together in the family mansion, in which she had a life 
estate, until about the year 1836, when Mrs. Boott went to Lon- 
don, where she still lives. Mr. James Boott also removed to 
London. Mr. Wright Boott, however, continued to occupy the 
family mansion to his death. Mr. William Boott continued to 
live with him, for several years, but finally was obliged to with- 
draw to separate lodgings. Mrs. Lyman, after her husband's 
decease, early in 1844, being without a home and in straitened 
circumstances, naturally looked to her mother's house as the 
only place to which she could properly retire, and she occupied 
apartments there during the last year of Mr. Wright Boott's life, 
— but literally occupied her own apartments only. Mr. Wright 



Boott required this as a condition of her being received into the 
house, not permitting her even to take a meal in his company, 
and literally never seeing her, though under the same roof, unless 
by accident, and then not speaking to her. He lived during 
this period, as he had for a long time before, in almost entire 
seclusion. 

From the circumstance of his being the eldest son, and a 
partner in business, he had possessed, in a high degree, the con- 
fidence of his father. This distinction he justly deserved, his con- 
duct, in those relations, having been in every respect entirely 
praiseworthy. The high consideration in which he was held by 
his father was shown in his leaving him an executor of his will, 
devising him a valuable estate as a mark of regard, in addition to 
his portion as one of the heirs, and confiding the interests of the 
rest of the family to his care and protection, to a great extent. Sev- 
eral other persons named in the will as co-executors having de- 
clined the trust, he became, with the assent of the other heirs, so far 
as they were capable of assenting (for several who assented were 
minors), sole executor, his mother, and his brother-in-law, Mr. 
William Wells, being the only sureties on his bond. (See App. 
Nos. 2, 3, 4.) The executor, by the will, was also trustee for cer- 
tain purposes. In those capacities the whole family property was 
in his hands, except the Mansion House, in which Mrs. Boott had, 
by the will, a life-estate. The executor, with her consent, in certain 
events, had power to sell it. The trusts of the will to be executed 
by him, included the investment of $100,000 during the life of 
Mrs. Boott, the income of which was to be appropriated to her, and 
the investment of something over $11,000 for the benefit of two 
maiden aunts, who lived in England. The residue of the prop- 
erty, including a reversionary interest in these trust funds and 
in the Mansion House, belonged to himself and his brothers and 
sisters equally. Several of them were under age at the time of 
his father's death, and their shares in the divisible property 
were to be held by the executor and invested, till they came of 
age. No guardians were formally appointed for them, but 
the provisions of the will made the executors testamentary 
guardians and trustees of their property, — so that Mr. Wright 
Boott virtually acted in that capacity also. He was, besides, the 
appointed guardian of the children of his cousin, Mr. Francis 
Boott, formerly a merchant in this city, who had died leaving a 
considerable property. Mr. Boott, senior, became surety for his 
son in the discharge of that trust. 

Mr. Wright Boott was consequently considered, when I first 
became acquainted with him, about three years after the death 
of his father, as the head of the family, and was deferred to in 
every way, by all its members. I naturally fell into the habits 
of the family, and was very well disposed to yield to him all the 



6 

respect and deference which his position among them seemed to 
demand. I remarked nothing extraordinary about him at that 
time, nor for years after. His habits were somewhat retiring, 
and his manners reserved, but always gentlemanly, and suffi- 
ciently courteous. For some years before his death, however, a 
marked change had taken place in his conduct — so much so, that 
his strange eccentricities, and extravagant and unfounded sus- 
picions, kept the family in a state of constant agitation. 

Almost every one of them suffered in turn, and of course some 
felt themselves deeply aggrieved. Others could see nothing 
reprehensible in his conduct, but, whatever happened, were dis- 
posed to throw the blame on any one rather than him. -By de- 
grees his situation, partly from accident, but chiefly in con- 
sequence of his rude, not to say cruel treatment, if he were in 
his right mind, of several members of his family, became one of 
complete isolation. This ended in his taking his own life, under 
the most distressing circumstances. In the excited state of feeling 
in the family at the moment, as well, as out of doors, it is not 
surprising, perhaps, that rumors should get afloat, as to the causes 
which led to this event, and the circumstances attending it. 

The most prominent of these rumors represented the last fatal 
act as the consequence of cruel and unmerited persecution 
from certain members of his own family, which had made life 
an intolerable burden. I was the reputed head of the con- 
spiracy, which was supposed to have brought about this melan- 
choly and shocking catastrophe. 

To attempt to follow and correct a public rumor is, gen- 
erally, hopeless and unprofitable. It usually has its run, corrects 
itself by its own absurdities and contradictions, and is forgotten, 
because it depends on no apparent basis of fact, and is traceable 
to no responsible source. In such cases, as a general rule, the 
dictate of good sense no doubt is, to let the thing take its natural 
course, trusting that the truth will eventually appear. I have 
acted on that principle, and suffered in silence under these impu- 
tations, until it has become plain, that the truth will not appear 
unless by my showing, and that silence is presumed upon as an 
admission. It will be seen, I think, from what follows, that this 
case forms an exception to the general rule above stated, because 
there is a certain seeming- basis of fact, which unexplained, or, 
which is worse, erroneously explained and left unanswered, 
justifies harsh inferences, and because there is a responsible 
source to which the rumors can be traced, and on whose au- 
thority they rest, mainly, in the public estimation. Under these 
circumstances, I feel it to be a duty I owe to my family to put 
the facts of the case, with the reasons for the course I have taken, 
into such a shape, as to leave no doubt hereafter that my course has 
been, at least, an honest and consistent one, — one which I could 



not, in my own judgment at least, have avoided, without derelic- 
tion of duty, and which I should therefore adopt again in the same 
circumstances. If, in doing this, I may seem to ihrow any im- 
putation on others, I shall regret that consequence ; but I have 
only to say, that I am not the aggressor. I have done, and shall 
do, no more than seems to me needful to defend myself against 
charges, which are without any reasonable foundation in truth, 
which have been widely disseminated, and are of such a kind 
as I could not leave unnoticed, when they had once come to my 
knowledge as proceeding from an authentic and responsible 
source. I am the more bound to speak, since it so happens, that I 
am the only surviving member of Mr. Wright Boott's family 
who had the means of knowing accurately several important and 
extraordinary particulars concerning him. Some of them relate 
to painful and delicate subjects, in which I was not an injured 
party, and which I have therefore scarcely a right, much less any 
wish, to revive, although they were among the principal sources 
of unhappiness in the family, and have a remote connection with 
topics of which I am compelled to speak. These matters will 
be left unexplained by me. Another must, necessarily, be a lead- 
ing subject of discussion in these pages, because it lies at the 
bottom of the present issue between Mr. Lowell and myself. I 
refer to Mr. Wright Boott's pecuniary position, and his manage- 
ment of the trusts above mentioned as committed to him. 

I have already stated, that his death has been attributed to 
cruel and unmerited persecution from myself and some other 
members of the family. This will be found to be nearly con- 
nected with the question of his actual conduct as executor, 
guardian, and trustee ; and his conduct in those relations will be 
found to be nearly connected with the question of his fitness to 
be the holder and manager of a trust fund ; and this, again, 
will be found to be connected with the question, whether he was 
to be regarded, in the latter years of his life, as a man sane, 
or insane. 

My own opinion, formed and expressed upon occasions which 
called for it, long before his death, was, that his reason had lost 
its balance, at least upon certain subjects and in reference to 
certain persons and things. Others, who knew particular facts 
not generally known and talked of, even among members of the 
family (who, at the period I speak of, saw little of him), formed 
the same opinion. Mr. Lowell, on the contrary, now speaks of 
him with confidence, as perfectly sane, even in the act of self- 
destruction, though it will be seen, from facts which I shall 
state, that long before that event, Mr.- Lowell himself had great mis- 
givings, to say the least, on that point. In regard to Mr. Wright 
Boott's business transactions of an earlier period, I believe no 
one of his family now living, except myself, had the means of 



being fully acquainted with them. Mr. John A. Lowell un- 
doubtedly had ; and, from his having been a former partner in 
business with Mr. Wright Boott, and standing, apparently, in the 
light of a disinterested witness and friend of the family, his state- 
ments on certain matters of fact, which will be subjects of 
inquiry in these pages, have been received without question. 
Not only the public, but most of the family, not being person- 
ally acquainted with certain transactions to be hereafter spoken 
of, have, on that supposition, placed implicit reliance on his as- 
sertions of fact and expressions of opinion. Hence the rumors, 
above referred to, concerning the supposed misconduct of myself 
and others towards Mr. Wright Boott, as the remote cause of 
his death, have acquired a permanency and consistency not usual 
in such cases ; and hence, I am compelled to notice them. 

I have expressed, above, my conviction of Mr. Wright Boott's 
partial insanity, in the last years of his life. I have alluded, also, 
to his incompetency as a safe depositary of trust property — 
which subject will carry me back to a date long before the idea 
of his insanity, on any subject, had distinctly occurred to me. I 
have since been led to doubt, whether there was not a tinge of it 
even at that early period. But whether there was, or not, I shall 
be obliged to state facts showing such a singular disregard of 
the duties of a trustee, as commonly understood and practised, 
that I desire, in the outset, to make known the opinion which I uni- 
formly entertained and expressed of him in one particular, lest 
my remarks should otherwise be misconstrued into an unmanly 
attack on the honor of the dead. My business lies with a gen- 
tleman who is alive, and well able to defend himself, if I do him 
wrong. That I shall carefully endeavor not to do. I do not desire, 
nor intend, to attack even that gentleman, — unless it be considered 
an attack to exhibit facts and proofs, adduced in self-vindication, 
which may be found at variance with his statements, or, at least, 
lead to inferences different from his own. But in respect of the 
late Mr. Wright Boott, whom I am reluctantly compelled to speak 
of as perfectly incompetent for the office of a trustee, I enter- 
tained for him, during an acquaintance of more than twenty 
years, a very high regard, and never felt a feeling of unkind- 
ness towards him, except during a short period of great rudeness 
on his part, before I had become impressed with the belief of his 
insanity. I take pleasure, therefore, in recording the fact, not- 
withstanding what I shall be obliged to say concerning his man- 
agement of trust property, that, from the first to the last of our 
intercourse, I considered him a man of unblemished integrity, 
and a high, I may say even chivalrous, sense of honor. But he 
had great peculiarities — among them, that of seeming to con- 
sider the whole family property his own, to deal with as he pleas- 
ed — investing it accordingly, not as a trustee, but in his own 



private name — using it in unwarrantable speculations, which 
greatly impaired it, and at one time threatened its total loss 
— rendering no account of it to anybody, and^ in fact keep- 
ing none — consulting no other heir respecting it — and in 
general, without any business habits whatever, holding himself 
above all the ordinary responsibilities of a legal trust, on the due 
execution of which others were dependent. But all this, which 
it required a long and intimate acquaintance with him to under- 
stand the causes of, I attribute to peculiarities of character, which 
amounted at last, if not at first, in my judgment, to mental hal- 
lucination. 

It will be seen, by and by, that the whole idea of any persecu- 
tion, to which I was a party, arose from a necessity, which devolv- 
ed upon me, of taking steps which my judgment dictated as pro- 
per to preserve a remnant of the family estate, at a period when 
I not only knew his general incompetency to discharge a trust, 
but was firmly convinced of his actual insanity. Nor were my 
motives in this chiefly selfish. I had long ceased to look for 
any considerable pecuniary benefit to myself from the family 
property. Fortunately, it was not a subject of vital importance 
to me. But there were others to whom its preservation was 
quite important. Absence, death, and want of acquaintance with 
business affairs, left no one member of the family here, besides 
myself, at the period now alluded to, except Mr. Wm. Boott, who 
was competent to take any very prominent part in a measure 
which he, as well as myself, regarded as one of necessity ; and 
for information on many important facts he relied w^holly upon 
me. We were, both, solicitous lest Mrs. Boott herself might fail, 
in her declining days, to enjoy that competency to which she had 
always been accustomed, and to which she wa,s well entitled 
under the provisions of her husband's will, and by the estate 
which he had left. I was, moreover, a co-trustee with Mr. John 
A. Lowell for the family of my deceased friend and brother-in- 
law, the late Mr. Kirk Boott, of Lowell; and their interests, 
whether Mr. Lowell should concur with me, or not, in his views 
of them, I felt bound to protect. Circumstances brought about 
a crisis which made some action imperative ; and from these ■ 
motives I did what was necessary to be done, with all the con- 
sideration, for the feelings of Mr. Wright Boott, that was consist- 
ent with the end to be attained. 

The crisis to which I allude was a sale of the family mansion- 
house, made by Mr. Wright Boott, through the agency of Mr. 
Lowell, in 1844, and a call upon the heirs to join in a deed of 
it. The particulars will appear more fully in the sequel. For 
the present, I am only stating, in a general way, those facts which 
will make intelligible the unfortunate issue which has arisen 
2 



10 

between Mr. Lowell and myself, and the correspondence it 
has led to. 

Some further facts must be stated for this purpose. Mr. 
Wright Boott left a will, by which he bequeathed some small 
pecuniary legacies to different relatives — his extensive collection 
of plants to his friend, Mr. John A. Lowell — his mechanical 
tools and machines, of which he had a very valuable collection, 
to a person nowise connected with the family, nor particularly 
with himself, — and the residue of his property to his sister, 
Mrs. Ralston, to the exclusion of all his other brothers and sisters, 
though there were circumstances which made it particularly 
urgent upon him to have left a provision for some of them. Mr. 
John A. Lowell was named sole executor. This will, on which 
further comments will be made hereafter, was executed about 
six months before his death, and appears, by Mr. Lowell's state- 
ment, to have been enclosed to him in a letter written a few 
hours only before the writer destroyed himself. The letter contain- 
ed, as Mr. Lowell reported, charges against me ; on which account 
I was exceedingly desirous to see it, in order that I might explain 
to him and to the family any thing which might need explana- 
tion ; though my belief was, that the letter would bear such marks 
of the insanity with which I thought the writer afflicted, as might 
probably make the charges harmless. Mr. Lowell, it will ap- 
pear, did not think proper to permit me to see the letter. 

In consequence of this, and of the rumors before alluded to, 
when the will was offered for probate, considering, as I did, that 
it was the will of an insane man, I determined to avail myself of 
my legal right to oppose it on that ground. It was not my in- 
tention, in any event, to have taken to myself any share of the 
property to which I might be entitled in my wife's right. In 
fact, I afterwards, jointly with her, made an assignment of it to 
her sister, Mrs. Lyman. Mr. William Boott did the same with 
his. But my real object in opposing the will, personally, as an 
heir at law, was to cause the above-mentioned letter, if possible, 
to be produced. In this I failed. Mr. Lowell refused to be 
sworn as a witness on the ground that he was a party in interest, 
both as executor and as a legatee. The judge was of opinion 
that he could not be made a witness under such circumstances. 
I then moved that he should be compeUed, as a party, to produce 
the letter in that court, as a paper connected with the instrument 
offered for probate, and bearing upon its validity as a will. The 
question of the testator's insanity had been gone into so far only 
as was necessary to lay a foundation for this motion. But it 
was insisted by Mr. Lowell's counsel, that nothing short of a 
suit in equity, called a bill of discovery, could compel a party to 
produce such a paper; and the judge was of opinion that a 
Court of Probate had no power to order it. As I had no inten- 



11 

tion of pursuing my pecuniary interest in the case, this point 
being decided against me, I withdrew my appearance, and 
offered no farther opposition to the Probate of the will. It was 
thereupon allowed by the judge, subject, of course, to the right 
of appeal by any person interested. Mrs. Lyman, possessing by 
assignment the rights of Mr. Wm. Boott and myself, in addition 
to her own claim as an heir, entered, in due time, an appeal to 
the Supreme Court, with the intention of trying there, before a 
jury, the validity of the will. She did this under the advice of 
Mr. William Boott and myself, sanctioned by the opinions of 
three legal gentlemen whom we consulted in her behalf. She 
also filed a bill of discoverya gainst Mr. Lowell, to cause the 
production of the letter before mentioned, as evidence in the 
cause — her counsel having first applied to him in vain for a 
copy of it. But Mr. Lowell, having anticipated this movement, 
had resigned the executorship, and had assigned his legacy to 
the residuary legatee, and thereupon pleaded to the bill of dis- 
covery, that he was not a party in the cause, and therefore not 
the subject of such a bill. 

While these suits were pending, I felt no call upon me to take 
any active step, as all the facts material to the question of Mr. 
Wright Boott's sanity, or insanity, would necessarily be brought 
out at the trial, and incidentally most of the other facts which I 
desired to have known. Mrs. Lyman, however, afterwards made 
up her mind, not by the advice of her counsel, but from consid- 
erations of personal feeling altogether, to discontinue her appeal. 
It was a generous impulse on her part, by which she sacrificed 
pecuniary claims which were important to her, for the sake of 
avoiding that public investigation of her deceased brother's con- 
duct and actions which would have been inevitable. For my 
own part, I carefully avoided advising her at all in that position 
of the case. She acted upon the dictates of her own judgment 
and feeling, and discontinued the suit. As she was the sole 
appellant, no other heir could prosecute it. Indeed, Mr. William 
Boott and myself had no longer any pecuniary interest, or legal 
right, in the question. The effect of her withdrawal, therefore, 
was, to make the decree of the Judge of Probate, allowing the 
will, valid and unquestionable. There was no longer any mode 
by which the matters which I wished to have cleared up could 
be made the subject of legal investigation. In this state of 
things, I had come to the conclusion, that there was nothing for 
me to do, although rumors to my disadvantage continued to pre- 
vail, and I was sensible of suffering in the common opinion. 

But soon after that event, information accidentally reached 
me, in a very positive shape, of certain definite statements made 
by Mr. John A. Lowell, at a particular time and place, and 
in the presence of several witnesses, so as to be capable 



12 

of proof. These statements, as reported to me, correspond- 
ed with others which I had heard more loosely attributed 
to him, as made at other times, but which I was never able 
to trace distinctly. They corresponded too with the current rumor, 
above alluded to, concerning the unjustifiable and oppressive 
conduct of myself and others towards Mr. Wright Boott, as a 
cause of his death, and, to my mind, sufficiently accounted for 
the prevalence and stability of the rumor. 

I therefore called upon Mr. Lowell for explanation ; and the 
reader will now be prepared to understand the correspondence 
between us, which I submit. 



Mr. Brooks to Mr. Lowell. 

Boston, Nov. 28, 1846. 

Sir, — I am informed that the suit of Mrs. Lyman, to set aside 
the will of the late Mr. J. W. Boott, on the score of incompe- 
tency to make a will, has been dropped, from circumstances of 
feeling which she only can judge of. 

This has disappointed me on several accounts ; but chiefly, 
because it makes it necessary for me to bring forward some mat- 
ters, connected with the subject, which affect me personally. So 
long as the suit was pending, I felt great confidence that the in- 
sanity of that gentleman, of which I am myself most fully per- 
suaded, would be established by legal proof, and the finding of a 
jury ; and that thus the causes of difficulty and misunderstand- 
ing in the family, growing out of his eccentric and unhappy 
course, would have been incidentally cleared up, and all errone- 
ous impressions gradually corrected, without any movement of 
mine. 

As Mrs. Lyman's conclusion puts an end to that form of in- 
quiry, I find myself now compelled to address you under the 
following circumstances. 

From the time of Mr. J. W. Boolt's unfortunate death, I have 
frequently heard reports respecting the supposed causes which led 
to it, in which my name, and that of other members of the family, 
have been mentioned in a way by no means either agreeable or 
creditable. 

Until within a few days, I have never been able to trace these 
stories to any authentic source. But recent information leads 
me now to apprehend, that they are fairly traceable to statements 
made by you, at the inquest on the body of Mr. Boott, which do 
not appear in the coroner's return of the evidence produced 
before him. I am informed, that through your statements the 
jury were led to believe, that Mr. Boott's death was occasioned 
by his mortification and chagrin at unfounded charges, made by 
certain members of his family, of mismanagement of his father's 



13 

estate. That you stated to them, among other things, that you 
had gone into an investigation of the accounts, and had found 
that there was no ground whatever for any suspicion of improper 
management of the business, and that instead of Mr. Boott's 
owing any thing to the estate, a clear balance of twenty-five 
thousand dollars was ascertained to be due from the estate to 
him, for voluntary and gratuitous advances, and that notwith- 
standing this, some of the heirs refused to sign the deed of the 
house until the accounts should be settled, and the property 
placed in other hands ; and that these unjust and injurious pro- 
ceedings on their part, towards Mr. Boott, had so affected his sen- 
sitive mind, as to lead to the fatal consequence of death by his 
own hand, in a state of entire sanity. 

I am further informed, that, in connection with these statements, 
my name was used ; and that I was spoken of as very violent 
and active in persecuting Mr. Boott for this cause. 

This information, I confess, has surprised me. In all my in- 
tercourse with Mrs. Boott's family, there has been nothing on 
my part which I am not perfectly ready and able, I believe, to 
justify. 

In regard to the accounts of the late Mr. J. W. Boott, in par- 
ticular, I did nothing more than the most imperative sense of 
duty impelled me 1o, upon consultation with the most judicious 
friends ; and so far from having been violent, or unreasonable, I 
think I can show, that my conduct was marked by as much 
moderation and forbearance, as was consistent with a necessary 
end. 

That I considered Mr. Boott entirely incompetent and unfit to 
have the management of the property, I admit ; and in this you 
always fully agreed with me. In the latter years of his life, I 
considered this incompetency as amounting to, or occasioned by, 
a partial insanity. But I said and did no more than, under such 
circumstances, was necessary for the pecuniary interest of the 
family, which, it was clear, could no longer safely be administered 
in his hands. 

The real facts in the case, I always supposed, must have been 
sufficiently well known to you to have prevented any statements 
from you injurious to my reputation, and especially in my ab- 
sence, without notice, or opportunity for explanation afforded. 

But the information now received, if correct, seems to show 
that such statements were made ; and this explains to my mind 
the origin of the reports to which I have above alluded. I will 
still hope, however, that there is some mistake in this business, 
which it may be in your power to rectify, as I am unwilling to 
believe, that you could deliberately make such statements, on such 
an occasion, and without my knowledge, or that, if you did, you 
were not laboring under some singular misapprehension of the 



14 

true state of the case, which may yet be corrected, and the injury 
done to me, as far as possible, repaired. 

My object, therefore, in addressing you, at present, is simply to 
give you notice of the information which has come to me, and 
to ask of you how far you admit it to be true, and whether you 
do, or do not, undertake to justify the reported statements. 

With due regard, yours, &c. EDWARD BROOKS. 

J. A. Lowell, Esq. 



Mr. Brooks to Mr. Lowell 

Sir, — More than a week since, I wrote you a letter, which 
was placed in your hands, giving you notice of information 
which had come to me, of certain statements said to have been 
made by you, tending to affect my reputation injuriously. 

The questions I put to you were such as I think demand an 
answer from one gentleman to another. As yet I have none ; 
and from the number of days that have passed, I am led to sup- 
pose that I am not to expect any. I do not wish to be hasty, 
however, even in that conclusion. 

My sole object in writing, now, is to know, whether an answer 
of any kind to my former letter is intended. If it is, I shall wil- 
lingly wait your convenience as to time. 

But, if an answer to my present inquiry is not received very 
shortly, I shall of course understand, that our relative position 
will be such as results from a refusal on your part of all explana- 
tion, or approach to one. 

Yours as before, 

EDWARD BROOKS. 

Dec. 7th, 1846. 



Mr. Lowell to Mr. Brooks. 

Monday Evening, Dec. 7th, 1846. 
Edward Brooks, Esq. 

Sir, — I have received your note of this afternoon, in which 
you say, that the questions you put to me, in your letter of 28th 
November, were such as you think demand an answer from one 
gentleman to another. I did not reply to that letter, because its 
tone appeared to me to be so discourteous as to preclude an 
answer consistently with my self-respect. It seems, however, by 
your second note, that such could not have been your intent. 

Another objection was to the anonymous character of the in 



15 

formation you had received, I am not desirous ot insisting 
upon this point at the present moment, and will therefore frankly 
say, in answer to your first communication, that I did not men- 
tion your name, or that of any other person, before the coroner's 
jury, in connection with the unhappy dissensions in Mr. Boott's 
family ; and that I expressed no opinion as to the merits, or de- 
merits, of the parties engaged in them. 

With due regard, 

Yours, &c. 

J. A. LOWELL. 



Mr. Brooks to Mr. Lowell. 

December 10th, 1846. 
J. A. Lowell, Esq. 

Sir, — Yours of the 7th instant, in answer to mine of the day 
before, was duly received on the 8th. After taking time for 
consideration and consultation with friends, I now proceed to 
reply to it. One reason given by you for not answering my 
first letter of November 28th, is that the tone of it was discour- 
teous. This is rather a vague mode of expression. Had you 
undertaken to point out any portion of it as liable to that objec- 
tion, I think you would not have found it easy to do so. I did 
not intend to be discourteous ; I did intend to state my case 
plainly and intelligibly. Your second reason is, that my infor- 
mation was of an anonymous character. I presumed you would 
take for granted, that I should not move in so grave a matter as 
the subject of my letter, unless my information was such as 
would reasonably justify it. You have a right to demand my 
authority, and it shall be given, should you think proper to 
do so. 

In your answer, I must understand you to say, that you men- 
tioned no names before the jury of inquest, in connection with 
the subject of my inquiry. If you are confident of that, there is 
some unaccountable mistake, between my authority and your- 
self, which requires to be rectified. You farther say, that you 
expressed no opinion as to the merits, or demerits, of the parties 
to the unhappy dissensions in Mr. Boott's family. This does 
not meet the question at issue. If you will look at my letter, 
you will find, that the question is a pretty narrow one between 
you and me. You are reported to have stated to that Jury, in 
effect, " that the cause of the manner of Mr. Boott's death was 
not insanity." This appears by the coroner's return. You are 
moreover reported to have gone farther, and to have given the 
jury to understand what the cause of it, in your opinion, was ; 



16 

namely, that some members of his family had got an idea that 
he had mismanaged the estate, and that his accounts were in 
disorder. That yon had, as a friend of the family, examined the 
accounts, and found that this idea was entirely erroneous ; that 
there was no ground for complaint; but that, on the contrary, it 
appeared Mr. Boott had made large gratuitous advances to the 
estate, which owed him in consequence a clear balance of 
$25,000 ; that you so represented it to the heirs ; but that some 
of them, notwithstanding, refused to sign a deed of the house 
until the property was taken from his hands. You further gave 
the jury to understand, acccrding to my information, that this 
unjust and injurious proceeding so wrought on his delicate and 
susceptible nature, as to lead, under no insane influence, to self- 
destruction. 

Now, Sir, the question I wish you to answer is simply this — 
Did you, or did you not, make a statement, in whole, or in part, 
to that effect ? 

Trusting to receive an early and distinct reply, 
I remain. 

Yours, &c. 

EDWARD BROOKS. 



Mr. Lowell to Mr. Brooks. 

Boston, Dec. 11th, 1846. 

Sir, — Your note of the 10th is before me. In reference to 
the subject of discourteousness, it is obvious that our opinions 
are so radically diverse as to render idle any discussion. It is 
enough that you disclaim the intention of any in this corres- 
pondence. 

Upon reviewing your previous notes and mine of the 7th, in 
consultation with my friends, I am satisfied, that it contained all 
the information, or explanation, that you could with propriety 
have sought, or expected. The matter of inquiry was my testi- 
mony before a coroners inquest ; not a voluntary statement, 
but one in the course of a legal investigation, in which I was 
necessarily a witness, and for the accuracy, or consequences, of 
which, according to the usages of society, and the plainest prin- 
ciples of common sense and propriety, I can be accountable to 
no man, unless under the imputation of voluntary misrepresen- 
tation. 

This consideration would have justified me in declining any 
response ; but a desire to comply with your request, prompted 
by a hope that it might relieve the unpleasant feeling and mis- 
apprehension under which you labored, in supposing that I had 



17 

made use of your name, or the names of others of the family, in 
reference to difficulties between them and the deceased ; that I 
had accused any of them of " unjust and injurious proceedings " 
towards him, and that you were spoken of by me " as being very 
violent and active in persecuting Mr. Boott," and that I had 
stated that " these unjust and injurious proceedings had so af- 
fected his sensitive mind, as to lead to the fatal consequences of 
death by his own hand, in a state of entire sanity," which I 
understood to be the supposed grievances of which you sought 
explanation — induced me to answer, and inform you, that 1 
made no use of your name, or of that of any other person, and 
expressed no opinion of the conduct of any one in connection 
with the unhappy dissensions in Mr. Boott's family. I might, 
perhaps, have been more explicit, in denying that I expressed 
the opinion, that any " unjust and injurious proceedings towards 
Mr. Boott " led to his death by his own hand ; but I considered 
that point entirely covered by my general disclaimer of having 
expressed any opinion of the merits, or demerits, of the parties 
opposed to him. In declaring my conviction, when interrogated, 
that Mr. Boott was not insane at the time of his death, I was 
only answering truly under the oath upon me ; and the stating 
of the existing facts, when inquired of concerning them, was no 
less my unavoidable duty. I am not aware, that I stated any 
that are not as familiar to you as to myself, and which it would 
not have been equally your duty to state under a similar obliga- 
tion. As to any understanding, or inference, of the jury, or 
others, derived from them, I am under no responsibility. I for- 
bear comment upon the unreasonableness of calling upon a 
witness to answer for particular portions of his testimony, di- 
vested of their accompanying connections ; it is enough that, 
waiving my perfect right to forbear any reply, I have assured 
you, that I did not Use the names of yourself, or any of the 
family, nor make any statements, nor suggest any inferences, of 
which you could have any right to complain. And I leave to 
you and your informant the responsibility of all the coloring, 
with which your imaginations may have invested the statements 
I did make, and the inferences which you, or he, may see fit to 
draw from them. Having now. Sir, freely answered the inqui- 
ries you put to me, in your letter of 28th November, I can only 
say, in conclusion, that I have been no party to the difficulties 
which have caused so much pain in Mrs. Boott's family ; and 
have endeavored to discharge the duties that devolved upon me, 
as the partner, friend, and executor of Mr. Wright Boott, with 
firmness certainly, but without unkindness to any one. If I 
have not been so fortunate as to impress others with this opinion, 
I sincerely regret it. As there appears to exist no farther reason 
for implicating me in any of the issues growing out of these 
3 



18 

difficulties, which have ah'eady cost me so much sacrifice of 
time and feeling, I must respectfully request to be excused from 
any farther participation in them. 

I remain, 

Yours, &LC. 

J. A. LOWELL. 



Mr. Brooks to Mr. Lowell. 

December 15th, 1846. 
J. A. Lowell, Esq. 

Sir, — Your letter of the 11th instant, in answer to mine of 
the 10th, was duly received, and I have given it full delibera- 
tion. There are several matters in it which I reserve my right 
to remark upon for some future occasion, if it should become 
necessary. For the present, 1 wish to confine your attention 
and my own, to the single point which must be first settled, viz : 
Whether the substance of my inquiry has yet been answered. 

For this purpose, I beg you to look at the course of our cor- 
respondence. My letter of November 28th stated, that I had 
been informed, that, through your statements, the coroner's jury 
were led to believe, that Mr. Boott's death was occasioned by 
mortification and chagrin at unfounded charges, made by certain 
members of his family, of mismanagement of his father^s estate. 
The particular facts, said to have been stated by you, which led 
to that belief, were set forth in that letter as follows : — "that you 
had gone into an investigation of the accounts, and had found 
that there was no ground ivhatever for any suspicion of improper 
management of the business ; and that, instead of Mr. Booti 
ovnng any thing to the estate, a clear balance of $25,000 was 
ascertained to be due from the estate to him, for voluntary and 
gratuitous advances ; and that, notwithstanding this, some of the 
heirs refused to sign the deed of the house, until the account 
should be settled, and the property placed in other hands ; " and 
as a conclusion of your own from these facts, "that these unjust 
and injurious proceedings on their part, towards Mr. Boott, had 
so affected his sensitive mind, as to lead to the fatal consequence 
of death by his own hand, in a state of entire sanity ; " to which 
I added the further information, " that, in connection with these 
statements, my name was used, and that I was spoken of as 
very violent and active in persecuting Mr. Boott for this cause." 
My letter concluded with the inquiries, whether you admitted 
my information, as above stated, to be true ; and whether you 
did, or did not, undertake to justify the reported statements. 

On the 7th instant, having received no answer, I addressed 



19 

you again, staging that I thought the questions put such as de- 
manded an answer from one gentleman to another, and request- 
ing to know whether any was intended. Your letter of the 
same evening, noticing, but not insisting upon, the anonymous 
character of my information as an objection, and also, assigning 
as a reason for not having sooner answered my former letter, its 
supposed discourteous tone, (which you rightly concluded, how- 
ever, from my second note, could not have been intended), pro- 
ceeds to say, by way of answer to the inquiry, that you did not 
mention my name,, or that of any other person^ before the coro- 
ner's jury, in connection with the unhappy dissensions in the 
Boott family ; and that you expressed no opinion as to the merits, 
or demerits, of the parties engaged in them; and there you stop. 
Mine of the 10th, after disclaiming the supposed intention to be 
discourteous, and offering to give you my authority for the in- 
formation, if requested, went on to say that your answer did not 
meet the question at issue ; and to make that perceptible, I re- 
peated, somewhat more precisely than before, the substance of 
the information, except as to the use of my name, which I left, 
upon your statement, as a mistake, between my authority and 
yourself, requiring to be rectified. My letter proceeded as fol- 
lows : — " You are reported to have stated to that jury, in effect, 
that the cause of the manner of Mr. Boott's death was not in- 
sanity. This appears by the coroner's return. You are more- 
over reported to have gone further, and to have given the jury 
to understand what the cause of it, in your opinion, was, viz. 
that some members of the family had got an idea that he had mis- 
managed the estate ; and that his accounts were in disorder ; that 
you, as a friend of the family, examined the accounts, and found 
that this idea was entirely erroneous ; that there was no ground 
for complaint; hut that, on the contrary, it appeared Mr. Boott 
had made large gratuitous advances to the estate, which owed 
him, in consequence, a clear balance of $25,000 ; that you so 
represented it to the heirs ; but that some of them, notwithstand- 
ing, refused to sign a deed of the house until the property loas 
taken from his hands" These are set forth as the facts which 
you are reported to have stated ; and in addition, as your own 
opinion, "that this unjust and injurious proceeding so wrought 
on his delicate and susceptible nature as to lead, under no insane 
influence, to self-destruction." The simple question which you 
were requested to answer, was, " did you, or did you not, make 
a statement, in whole, or in part, to that effect ? " Your answer 
of the 11th informs me, that, on reviewing your note of the 7th, 
you think it contains all the information, or explanation, that I 
could properly seek, or expect. You suggest, that your position 
as a witness might have justified you in refusing to answer the 
inquiry at all ; but without relying upon that, you repeat the 



20 

answer which had been made to what you say you Understood 
to be the supposed grievances, of which I sought explanation ; 
and add, " I might, perhaps, have been more explicit, in denying 
that I expressed the opinion^ that any unjust, or injurious, proceed- 
ings towards Mr. Boott led to his death by his own hand ; but I 
considered that point entirely covered by my general disclaimer 
of having expressed any opinion of the merits, or demerits, of the 
parties opposed to him^ You proceed to say, that it was your 
duty, as it would have been mine, under like circumstances, to 
state facts when interrogated ; and that you are not answerable 
for the understanding, or inferences, of the jury ; that it is unrea- 
sonable to call upon a witness to answer for particular portions 
of his testimony, divested of their accompanying connections ; 
but that, waiving- your right in that respect, you had answered 
me ; that you did not use names, nor make any statements, nor 
suggest any inferences, of ivhich I could have any right to com- 
plain ; and that you leave to me and my informant the respon- 
sibility of all the coloring with which our imaginations may have 
invested the statements you did make, and of the inferences which 
he, or I, may see fit to draw from them. And having, as you 
say, " thus freely answered the inquiries " in my letter of 28th 
November, you conclude by a general statement, that you had 
been no party to the difficulties in Mrs. Boott's family; had 
endeavored to discharge the duties which devolved upon you, 
with firmness, and without unkindness ; and finally, you say, 
"that as there appears to be no farther reason for implicating me 
in any of the issues growing out of those difficulties, which have 
already cost me so much sacrifice of time and feeling, I must 
respectfully request to be excused from any farther participation 
in them." 

Nothing would give me greater satisfaction, than to gratify 
this sincere wish of yours, if I could do so consistently with 
what is due to myself. I am extremely sorry to put you to in- 
convenience, still more to excite painful feelings in the mind of 
any gentleman. But my own feelings, in this matter, are also 
entitled to regard, and my rights, if I have any, as between gen- 
tlemen, are to be respected in this case. I shall not seek to im- 
plicate you, unnecessarily, in any issues there may be between 
members of the Boott family. But the present issue is one 
wholly between you and myself. I have called upon you, as a 
gentleman, to say, whether or not certain information which 
has come to me is true. It consists of certain matters said to 
have been stated by you as facts, — resting wholly for their 
credit upon the authority of your statement. Certain other mat- 
ters o{ opinion, said to have been stated by you, resting upon the 
deserved weight of your opinion, where you are supposed to 
have means of forming a correct one, and of the use of my name 



21 

in connection with some of the matters spoken of. This inquiry, 
as to the truth of my information, you had, and still have, a right 
either to answer, or refuse to answer, according to your own 
sense of propriety. But as appears to me, you have not, as yet, 
done either the one, or the other. I understand you, indeed, to 
deny the use of my name before the jury, and so far, to have 
answered distinctly that branch of inquiry. I understand you 
also, by your last letter, to deny the expression of any opinion, 
that unjust and injurious proceedings, towards Mr. Boott, led to 
his untimely end. But, whether you did, or did not, make the 
statements of fact vfhich are reported, still remains wholly un- 
answered ; and this, permit me to say, constituted the whole 
substance of my inquiry ; my grievance, if I have any, lies 
essentially there. If matters were stated as facts, within your 
knowledge, which presented to any fair mind the appearance of 
an unjust and injurious proceeding, it is of little importance, 
comparatively, whether you pronounced that consequence as 
your opinion, or not. If the transactions described were such as 
plainly implicated me, and were understood to do so, it is not 
material to know whether you actually named me, or not. 

But that which I called upon you more particularly to answer 
was, whether the substance of your testimony, as to matters of 
fact, was rightly reported to me, or not. I asked this as my due, 
in order that if mistake existed, it might be corrected ; and that 
if injury had been unintentionally done, it might be, as far as 
possible, repaired. I agree, that you ought not to be held respon- 
sible for any erroneous inferences that may have been drawn 
from your statements, or any coloring which may have been 
given to them by heated imaginations. But of all that, it is 
impossible to judge, until we know with certainty ivhat the 
statements were. You say, indeed, in general terms, that you 
did not make any statements, nor suggest any inferences, of 
which I could have a right to complain. Doubtless you think so ; 
but you cannot judge of that for me ; nor can I judge of it, my- 
self, till I know what your statements were. I am aware, too, 
that there may sometimes be danger of misapprehension in 
stating particular portions of testimony, without their accompa- 
nying connections ; but whilst I call for particular portions, which 
have been reported to me, you wilt understand that I have 
no objection, and, indeed, should have no right to object, to your 
adding the explanatory context ; on the contrary, explanation is 
the very thing I seek ; and if you should give such explanations 
as should go to show that the jury had drawn wrong inferences, 
I should know how to rectify that, without farther resort to you. 
I agree further, that as a witness, you could not avoid stating all 
facts that were inquired of, as you believed them to be, however 
disagreeable : and that a witness is not answerable, civilly, or 



22 

criminally, for the consequences of a true statement made by- 
compulsion. But I hold, that one gentleman is not the less 
answerable to another for the entire accuracy of statements con- 
cerning him, because they were delivered in the character of a 
witness, and under the solemnities of an oath, and believed at 
the time to be true. 

Yet before the question of their accuracy can be examined, it 
must first be settled what they actually were, — not in precise 
words, — but in substance and effect; and for that end, every 
gentleman is liable, I conceive, to be called on to say, whether he 
has been rightly reported, or not, as to words used and facts 
stated, whether in court, or out of it ; and when so called on, he 
has doubtless a right to elect, according to his own judgment 
and sense of propriety, to answer it, or not. I understand you to 
have elected to answer, and that you consider yourself to have 
" freely answered " my inquiries. In that I think you are mistaken. 
If my object was to seek a cause of quarrel, rather than to correct 
mistakes, I might, perhaps, act upon a very common inference in 
such cases, that a party so applied to intends to admit that which 
has been charged upon him, and which he does not wholly 
deny. But in doing so, I myself might act under a mistake of 
very disagreeable consequences. Since you profess to answer, 
and consider that you have done so, I am bound to presume 
that you have overlooked, or do not view as I do, the importance 
oi\\iQXpart of my information, to which I now call renewed 
attention. The whole substance of your testimony, as reported 
to me, in my view of the matter, lies in what was said concern- 
ing your examination of the accounts, and its results as found by 
you, and communicated to the heirs, connected with what was 
said concerning the previous complaints of the heirs, their sub- 
sequent conduct, and the fatal result which followed. My inquiry 
is, whether that was, substantially, your statement, or whether 
I have been misinformed about it. If you think I have no right 
to ask you that, because you were speaking as a witness, I pray 
you to say so distinctly. Otherwise, I pray you to answer dis- 
tinctly my original inquiry, or, if there was any indistinctness in 
that, my inquiry as I now put it : whether you did, or did not, 
make a statement to that effect, or vjhat statement, substantially, 
you did make on that subject. And I do this, because I know, 
or at least believe, that a mistake exists somewhere, which has 
produced injurious consequences, and before I can correct it I 
must first ascertain where and what it is. In that, I think you 
will hardly refuse to aid me to the extent asked. 

EDWARD BROOKS. 



23 

Mr. Lowell to Mr. Brooks. 

Boston, 18th Nov., 1846. 
Edward Brooks, Esq. : 

Sir, — I cannot forbear the expression of my regret, that you 
should think proper further to press your inquiries, after the ex- 
pression to you of my deliberate conviction, that I had made all 
the explanations which I thought you could with propriety seek, 
or expect, and ray respectful, though unequivocal intimation, that 
I desired to decline further correspondence on the subject. I 
have, however, given to your note of 15th instant the deliberate 
consideration which its great length and careful composition 
may be supposed to require, and am constrained to say, that so 
far from convincing me that I should have made, or should now 
make, any further answer, it confirms my belief that I have made 
all that could be reasonably wished, or anticipated ; if it does not 
awaken the suspicion that I have already erred, in sacrificing my 
sense of obligation and propriety to a desire of removing the unea- 
siness under which, it appeared from your note, that you labored, 
in the supposition that, in my testimony at the coroner's inquest, 
I had made statements of a personal and unfavorable bearing 
towards yourself, and volunteered the expression of opinions 
affecting your feelings, or reputation. 

In reference to the remark that you understood me to have 
elected to answer your inquiries, by which I understand you to 
mean all of them, and to any extent, I have only to say that I 
consider this a misapprehension, for which I cannot feel myself 
responsible, as I certainly did not so intend, and cannot per- 
ceive that my notes are justly susceptible to any such con- 
struction. 

There are many topics in your note, upon which I forbear 
comment, further than to say, that my silence is not to be con- 
strued into acquiescence in the statements, principles, or conclu- 
sions therein advanced. I have only to add, and I beg you to 
believe that I do so in no unkind, or disrespectful manner, that 
my declining farther reply to your inquiries arises from no dis- 
trust, or doubt, concerning what were my exact statements before 
the coroner's jury, or of my ability to prove them in any proper 
investigation upon terms of just responsibility. I know with 
almost, if not entire precision, what I said. I was fully sensible, 
not merely of my obligation as a witness, but of the peculiarly 
delicate relation in which I stood to the deceased, and his family. 
I was exceedingly cautious, entertaining at that time sincere 
hopes that the sad event, which had just occurred, would soften 
the hearts of the surviving members of the family towards each 
other, and very anxious that no unguarded word of mine should 



24 

injuriously affect either, or produce any irritation, and thereby 
prevent so desirable a consumn:iation. If, in spite of all this 
care, I have been so unfortunate as to have my testimony mis- 
recollected, or misrepresented, by any person who heard it, the 
responsibility of the consequences must rest upon him, and not 
upon me. Your ob't serv't, 

J. A. LOWELL. 



Mr. Brooks la Mr. Lowell. 

December 18th, 1846. 
J. A. Lowell, Esq.: 

SiK, — Yours of this date, by mistake, I presume, appearing 
to bear dale of 18th Nov., is before me. My answer will be in 
few words. In it, you say, that your declining farther reply to 
my inquiries " arises from no distrust, or doubt, concerning' lohat 
were your exact statements before the coroner'' s furyP And 
again : ^' I know with almost, if not entire precision, ivhat I saidP 
You have stated in one of your previous letters, that "yoM did 
not make any statement, nor suggest any inferences, of which I 
could have any right to complain.^'' If this be so, you could at 
once have removed all difficulties, by letting me know distinctly 
what your statements were. This, to my great surprise and 
regret, you now positively decline doing. The course I feel 
bound to take, upon this declaration of yours, is not a pleasant, 
but it is an imperative one. Justice to myself, my family, and 
all parties concerned, requires, that those statements should be 
veritied in the next best way in which it can be done, and in the 
most formal and solemn manner w^hich the law, under the cir- 
cumstances of the case, will permit. With this view, I have 
requested five of the six gentlemen who composed that jury to 
appear before John P. Putnam, Esq., at his office. No. 16 Court 
street, on Monday next, the 21st inst., at half-past three o'clock 
in the afternoon, in order that he may write down and certify 
their answers to such questions as may be put to them. I have 
not spoken to Dr. Putnam, the sixth juryman, on account of his 
delicate position as a brother-in-law of yours, but I should be 
glad to have his statement also, if agreeable to you and himself. 
My proposal is, that we should both be present, with, or without, 
counsel, precisely as you may prefer ; and that either party may 
put any question that he may think proper. But if you decline 
attending, or make no answer to the proposal, my intention is to 
proceed without you in collecting the statements, as the only 
means left me to arrive at such knowledge of the facts as may 
enable me to correct the mistake, which I presume to have ex- 
isted, and under which I now suffer. 



25 

I am very desirous that you should be personally present, as 
my only object is to get at the truth, and clear up, at once, this 
most unhappy misunderstanding. Your ob't serv't, 

EDWARD BROOKS. 



Mr. Brooks to Mr. Lowell. 

Monday Morning, Dec. 21, 1846. 
J. A. Lowell, Esq. : 

Sir, — Since the receipt of yours, I have heard with surprise, 
that, under the advice of your counsel, the members of the coro- 
ner's jury had been spoken to, by him, with the view of deterring 
them from appearing, as they had been requested, or from an- 
swering any questions that might be put to them. 

My object in writing is to give you notice, that I shall, never- 
theless, proceed with the inquiry, if any of them attend, as I 
confidently hope and believe they will, and to renew my request 
to you to be present, at the time and place before named. 

Yours, &c., 

EDWARD BROOKS. 



The points to which attention must be drawn in this corres- 
pondence are these : 

1. Mr. Lowell's tardy answer, to my letter of November 28, 
denies, with great positiveness, that he had mentioned my name, 
or that of any other person, before the coroner's jury, in con- 
nection with the unhappy dissensions in the Boott family. 

2. He denies, that he expressed anp opinion as to the merits, or 
demerits, of the parties engaged in them ; and in his second let- 
ter thinks, that he might, perhaps, have been more explicit in de- 
nying that he expressed the opinion, that any unjust and injurious 
proceedings tovjards Mr. Boott led to his death by his own hand, 
and denies generally, that he made any statements, or suggested 
any inferences of which I could have a right to complain. 

3. He declines, entirely, answering my inquiry as to the partic- 
ular facts which he was said to have staled relative to Mr. 
Wright Boott's accounts, and the mistake of the heirs in sup- 
posing there had been any mismanagement of the estate in his 
hands, and his own examination of the accoimts, and the result 
which he found there of a large balance due from the estate to 
Mr. Wright Boott, for gratuitous advances, and his communica- 
tion of that to the heirs, and their refusal, notwithstanding, to 
sign a certain deed until the property was placed in other hands ; 

4 



26 

ihat is, he declines saying whether he did, or did not, state these 
matters, or any of them, as facts, and refuses to inform me what 
statement he did make ; but wishes me to be content with the 
assurance, that he did not make any statements, nor suggest any 
inferences, of which I could have any right to complain — he, 
of course, being the sole judge. 

4. He says, that his refusal does not arise from any distrust, or 
doubt, concerning what were his exact statements before the 
coroner's jury, but that he knows with almost, if not entire, pre- 
cision, what he said. 

I now propose to show, that Mr. Lowell is, nevertheless, mista- 
ken in supposing, that he did not use my name on that occasion, 
and also in supposing, that he avoided the expression of any 
opinion, or the suggestion of any inferences, concerning the 
character of the proceedings of some of the heirs, including my- 
self, towards Mr. Wright Boott. And I further propose to show, 
that he did make, substantially, before the jury, all those state- 
ments, as to matters of fact, upon which he declined answering 
my inquiries ; and that he did produce upon the jury, by his 
statement of these supposed facts, together with such opinions as 
he expressed, or intimated, an impression, well warranted by his 
testimony, very unfavorable towards me in that matter, and quite 
sufficient to account for the permanency of the rumors to which 
I have alluded. This I propose to do by witnesses who heard 
his testimony. How far that testimony was correct, is another 
question, which I shall afterwards consider. 

There were, in all, six respectable persons on the coroner's jury. 
One, who had not been originally summoned for the purpose, was 
at the house, by the invitation, 1 believe, of Mr. Lowell, and was 
put upon the jury, by Mr. Lowell's suggestion to the coroner, as I 
am informed. This was Dr. Putnam, a brother-in-law of Mr. 
Lowell. That gentleman, from motives of delicacy, I have not 
thought proper to call upon for a statement on this subject. Mr. 
Lowell was invited to do so, if he thought proper, and still has the 
opportunity to take his testimony, if he pleases. What he would 
testify I have no means of knowing, except from the testimony 
of the other five. 

It will be perceived, from my last letter to Mr. Lowell, that I 
had been informed of an effort made, in his behalf, to dissuade 
these gentlemen from appearing to testify at all. My informa- 
tion at that time came from one of the jurymen, who voluntarily 
called on me and told me of it. It has since been confirmed to 
me by two others. They did all appear, however, at the time 
and place appointed. Three days' notice of it, and a repetition 
of that notice on the morning of the day fixed, had been given 
to Mr. Lowell. He did not think proper to attend, nor did any 
person in his behalf. This I regret, as my sole object was to 



27 

arrive at the whole truth, which his presence might have aided 
in eliciting ; and if he had done me an unintentional injury, 
through any misapprehension of the jurors, it was a fair oppor- 
tunity for him to repair it. I attended myself, without counsel, 
and heard the examination, suggesting to the magistrate the 
points upon which I wished to have the witnesses examined. 
They were not sworn, because there was no suit pending, nor 
subject upon which a legal deposition could be taken ; under 
which circumstances, I was advised, the law did not authorize the 
administering, or taking, of an oath, but prohibited it under a 
penalty, to be incurred both by the magistrate and the witness. 
Their statements, however, were taken with all the other formal- 
ities of a deposition, written down by the magistrate in my pre- 
sence, subscribed by them, and certified by him. If the wit- 
nesses, therefore, are men of ordinary veracity, they must be 
presumed to have stated what they are ready to swear to, upon 
a proper occasion, as the truth, according to their recollection and 
belief. They had no motive, certainly, to state otherwise. 
Their declarations are, verbatim, as follows. 



DECLARATIONS OF THE JURYMEN. 
John L. Andrews. 

I, John L. Andrews, of Boston, declare and say, that I was 
one of the jury of inquest, held on the body of J. "W. Boott, 
March 7th, 1845, at the Mansion House, in Bowdoin Square. 
John A. Lowell was a witness before said inquest, and among 
other things stated, that he was well acquainted with the de- 
ceased, and that he was once in business with him ; that Mr, 
Boott was a man of high sense of honor; that he, John A. Low- 
ell, had concluded a sale of the estate in Bowdoin Square ; that 
upon an investigation of the title, a doubt existed as to whether 
Boott, as executor, could convey that estate, and that it was 
necessary that the heirs should join in the conveyance ; that he, 
Mr. Lowell, called upon the heirs to obtain their signatures, and 
they had refused to sign the deed on the ground that the estate 
had been mismanaged, and he had not returned his accounts 
into the Probate office ; but would sign provided the funds aris- 
ing from the sale should be placed in the hands of trustees ; that 
it proved, on an investigation of the executor's accounts, in con- 
sequence of the application of certain heirs to the Judge of Pro- 
bate, for the executor's accounts to be returned, that there was 
no foundation for supposing that the estate had been misman^ 



28 

aged ; that he, Mr. Lowell, assisted Mr. Boott in making up his 
accounts, by which it appeared, that a clear balance was due from 
the estate to Mr. Boott, to the sum of $25,000. There was a 
question suggested by Mr. Lowell to three of the witnesses, as 
to whether they had seen any indications of insanity. The 
questions were put by the coroner. It was my impression, from 
all I heard and saw, that Mr. Lowell was extremely anxious to 
have Mr. Boott made out a sane man. I remarked to Mr. Dyke, 
and I suppose I made the remark generally, that there was some- 
thing behind the curtain which we did not see; and that we 
should probably hear more of this matter. It was proposed by 
some one, that, in making up the verdict, we should have it em- 
bodied in the verdict, that Mr. Boott was of sane mind. I would 
not undertake to say who it was that proposed it, but the coro- 
ner objected to it. The question was not asked by me. The 
impression I got from what Mr. Lowell said, was, that the refu- 
sal of the heirs to sign the deed affected his mind, and was prob- 
ably the remote cause of his death. 

JOHN L. ANDREWS. 



I, Ezra Palmer, Jr., of Boston, declare and say, that I was one 
of the jury of inquest on the body of Mr. John W. Boott. Mr. 
John A. Lowell was one of the witnesses before that jury. From 
what I heard of the evidence of Mr. Lowell, I should have had 
a very unfavorable impression of Mr. Edward Brooks, had I not 
known him before. Mr. Lowell said, that the heirs had repeat- 
edly desired an account to be rendered, which had been delayed ; 
that the sale had been effected, and that it became necessary to 
obtain the signatures of the heirs to the deed ; that there was an 
objection on the part of the heirs to putting their names to the 
deed, because Mr. Boott had rendered no account, and from an 
unwillingness to put more funds in his hands. My impression 
is, that he mentioned Mr. Edward Brooks's name, as one of the 
heirs. It was expressed, that Mr. Boott had been unfairly crowd- 
ed by the heirs, during the time he had been executor. He 
stated, that Mr. Boott had a great aversion to figures, and to mak- 
ing out accounts; and that he, Mr. Lowell, made out his ac- 
counts for him ; and on completing his accounts, he discovered, 
that, instead of Mr. Boott being indebted to the estate, the estate 
was debtor to him in the sum of $25,000. He, Mr. Lowell, rep- 
resented this result as a decided vindication of Mr. Boott against 
the unfounded charges of the heirs, as to the management of his 
estate. My impression was, that this crowding by the heirs had 



29 

affected his mind, and that it had depressed him so it might have 
led to his death. Mr. Lowell produced a letter, and said he had 
received it that morning. I can't say whether he opened the 
letter, or not, but he said it contained his will and made hira his 
executor, and requested him not to think the worse of him for 
the course he had taken. He did not say, that in that letter Mr. 
Brooks was charged with dishonesty, and Mrs. Lyman with be- 
ing a spy over him, in the house. My impression is, that he 
was asked if there was any thing more in the letter which bore 
upon the case, and he replied that there was nothing more. My 
impression was, that there was something more in the letter, from 
his not being willing to give it up. I don't recollect of any one 
proposing that the verdict should state that this death was not 
caused by insanity. I do not recollect of proposing it myself 
I have been on juries of inquest occasionally before. 

EZRA PALMER. Jr. 



William H. Learnard. 

I, Wm. H. Learnard, of Boston, declare and say, that I was 
one of the jury of inquest on the body of Mr. John W. Boott. 
Mr. John A. Lowell was a witness before the jury. He said 
that the heirs objected to sign a deed of the house in Bowdoin 
Square, because the estate had been so long in being settled up. 
He particularly mentioned the name of Mr. Edward Brooks as 
one of such heirs. He said Mr. Brooks was a violent man. He 
said, that the heirs summoned Mr. Boott into court to render his 
accounts ; and that he, Mr. Lowell, as a friend of the family, 
examined into the accounts, and found that there was a balance 
due from the estate to Mr. Boott of $25,000. He had a letter 
which he said he had received that day, which he held in his 
hand. The coroner asked him if it contained any thing except 
of a business nature, and he said that it did not, and the coroner 
said it need not be read. He did not say, that it contained 
any thing about Mr. Edward Brooks being dishonest, or Mrs. 
Lyman being a spy in his house. Something was said abovit 
those portions of the evidence relating to family matters not be- 
ing published. The impression he left on my mind was, that 
the conduct of the heirs in thus refusing to sign the deed might 
be the cause of Mr. Boott's death ; that Mr. Boott was a man of 
strict integrity, and of fine feelings. It was proposed by some 
one, but not by me, that in making up the verdict, we should em- 
body in the verdict, that Mr. Boott was of sane mind. I do not 
know who proposed it. WM. H. LEARNARD. 



William Dyke. 

I, William Dyke, of Boston, declare and say, that I was one 
of the jury of inquest holden on the body of John W. Boolt, on 
the 7th of March, 1845. Mr. John A. Lowell was a witness be- 
fore that jury. He stated that when the sale of the house in 
Bowdoin Square, belonging to the estate of Mr. Boott's father, 
was made, the heirs, among whom was Mr. Edward Brooks, re- 
fused to sign the deed of the property, because, as I understood 
him, he had mismanaged the estate. He stated that Mr. Boott 
was a man of such fine feelings, and such integrity, that this re- 
fusal so operated upon his mind as to cause his death. It was 
stated by him that the accounts were examined, and a balance 
was found due to Mr. Boolt of about $25,000. A letter was 
produced by Mr. Lowell. He stated in particular, the name of 
Mr. Edward Brooks as among the heirs who so refused to sign 
the deed. My impression is, that it was proposed by some one, 
but it was not by me, that we should embody in the verdict, that 
Mr. Boott was of sane mind. WM. DYKE. 



William C. Brown. 

I, William C. Brown, of Boston, declare and say, that I was 
foreman of the jury of inquest upon the body of John W. 
Boott. Mr. John A. Lowell was one of the witnesses before 
said inquest. I merely recollect in general, that Mr. Lowell 
attributed the death of Mr. Boott to the unhappy difficulties in 
the family, especially in relation to the estate. Mr. Lowell pro- 
duced a letter, which he said he had received that morning, 
through the post office, containing Mr. Boott's will, which had 
made him his executor. He read a part of the letter, which said 
that he, Mr. Boott, hoped that the method which he took to end 
his wretchedness, would not lead Mr. Lowell to think the worse 
of him. I asked Mr. Lowell if there was any thing else in that 
letter which bore upon the case. He said he had read all which 
related to it. I have been frequently on inquests. It has been 
invariably the case, that all papers calculated to throw li^ht upon 
the case, especially those written soon before the death of the 
deceased, should be given up to the jury. I never knew before, 
an exception. The fact of his not giving up the letter, made an 
unfavorable impression on my mind. I don't recollect whether 
any of the jury proposed to embody in the verdict the fact that 
he was an insane man. I don't recollect whether or not I pro- 
posed it. I don't recollect of his saying that in that letter Mr. 



31 

Brooks was chavged with dishonesty, and Mrs. Lyman with be- 
ing a spy in the house over hira. WM. C. BROWN. 



Certificate of the Magistrate. 

On the twenty-first day of December, A.D. one thousand eight 
hundred and forty-six, John L. Andrews, Ezra Palmer, Jr., Wm. 
H. Learnard, William Dyke, and William C. Brown, personally 
appeared before me, the undersigned, in my office, in Boston, 
and made the foregoing declarations, which were severally sub- 
scribed by them in my presence, after having been committed to 
writing by me. JOHN PHELPS PUTNAM. 



Such are the separate statements of these five witnesses, con- 
forming to each other, as nearly as could be expected, in their 
respective recollections of what had passed at a coroner's in- 
quest a year and a half before. The inquiry being as to what 
Mr. Lowell said in their hearing, one witness would natu- 
rally recall some particular expression which another might not 
remember. Some would not be expected to recollect any 
precise words that were used ; but all would be apt to bear in 
mind the substance of the testimony delivered on an occasion 
so solemn, unusual, and impressive. Probably an attentive 
hearer, under such circumstances, is more likely to remember 
with accuracy what was said, than the witness himself who said, 
it, especially if he testified under any excitement, or bias of feel- 
ing. And when several such hearers concur in their recollec- 
tions, it cannot well be supposed that they are all mistaken, even 
if Mr. Lowell himself should happen to think so. 

Now upon the first point denied by Mr. Lowell — the use of 
my individual name — two of the five jurymen, Mr. Learnard 
and Mr. Dyke, positively affirm it. A third. Dr. Palmer, says it 
is his impression. Mr. Learnard recollects that " he particularly 
mentioned the name of Mr. Edward Brooks as one of such 
heirs." Mr. Dyke says, " He stated in particular the name of 
Mr. Edward Brooks as among the heirs who so refused to sign 
the deed." All agree that the heirs were spoken of — which in- 
cluded me by description, and must have been so understood by 
every person who knew my connection with the family. 

Upon the second point denied by Mr. Lowell, namely, the 
expression of any opinion upon the merits, or demerits, of the 
parties, or that there had been any unjust and injurious proceed- 



ings of the heirs towards ihe deceased, Mr. Andrews says, " The 
impression 1 got from ivhat Mr. Lowell said was, that the refu- 
sal of the heirs to sign the deed affected his mind, and ivas pro- 
bably ihe remote cause of his deaths Dr. Palmer says, " From 
what I heard of the evidence of Mr. Loivell, I should have had a 
very unfavorable impression of Mr. Edward Brooks, had I not 
known him before.^'' " It was expressed, that Mr. Boott had been 
unfairly crowded by the heirs during the time he had been ex- 
ecutor." He " represented this result as a decided vindication of 
Mr. Boott against the unfounded charges of the heirs." " My 
impression Avas, that this crowding by the heirs had affected his 
mind, and that it had deprest^ed him so it might have led to his 
deathP Mr. Learnard says, "iZe said Mr. Brooks was a violent 
man.^' " The impression he left on my mind was, that the conduct 
of the heirs, in thus refusing to sign the deed, might be the cause 
of Mr. Boott' s death." IMr. Dyke says, " He stated, that Mr. Boott 
was a man of such fine feelings and such integrity, that this 
refusal so operated upon his mind as to cause his death." Mr. 
Brown says, " I merely recollect, in general, that Mr. Lowell 
attributed the death of Mr. Boott to the unhappy difficulties in 
the family, especially in relation to the estate." 

These seem to me sufficient expressions, or indications, of Mr. 
Lowell's opinion touching the merits and demerits of parties 
who may have differed with Mr. Wright Boott, or with each 
other, upon any controverted matter respecting his conduct. 

Upon the third point, which I regard as the most important, 
namely, the testimony which Mr. Lowell declined giving me 
any information upon, there is no material difference among 
the witnesses, so far as they undertake to give the particulars. 
Mr. Andrews says, Mr. Lowell testified, that the heirs " had 
refused to sign the deed, on the ground that the estate had been 
mismanaged," — but "that it proved, on an investigation of the 
executor'' s accounts, that there was no foundation for supposing 
that the estate had been mismanaged ; that he, Blr. Lowell, 
assisted Mr. Boott in making up his accounts, by which it ap- 
peared, that a clear balance was due from the estate to Mr. Boott, 
to the sum of $25,000." Dr. Palmer, after saying that " it was 
expressed, that Mr. Boott had been unfairly crowded by the 
heirs," adds, " he stated that Mr. Boott had a great aversion to 
figures, and to making out accounts ; and that he, Mr. Lowell, 
made out his accounts for him ; and on completing his accounts Ac 
discovered, that, instead of Mr. Boott being indebted to the estate, 
the estate ivas debtor to him in the sum of $25,000. He, Mr. 
Lowell, represented this result as a decided vindication of Mr. 
Boott against the unfounded charges of the heirs as to the mis- 
management of his estate." Mr. Learnard says, " He said, the 
heirs summoned Mr. Boott into court to render his accounts : 



33 

and that he^ Mr. Lowell, as a friend of the familt/, examined into 
the accounts, and found that there was a balance due from the 
estate to Mr. Book of $25,000." Mr. Dyke says, " the heirs, 
among whom was Mr. Edward Brooks, refused to sign the deed 
of the property, because, as I understood him, he had mismanaged 
the estateJ^ " It ivas stated by him that the accounts were exam- 
ined, and a balance was found due to Mr. Boott of about $25,000." 
Mr. Brown, without undertaking to state particulars, says, he 
recollects in general, " that Mr. Lowell attributed the death of 
Mr. Boott to the unhappy difficulties in the family, especially in 
relation to the estate." 

From these declarations of the five jurymen, the reader will be 
prepared to judge, whether my statement, to Mr. Lowell, of his 
testimony, as reported to me, was substantially correct, or whether 
it was, as he suggests in one of his letters, the coloring of a heated 
imagination, either on my part, or on the part of my informant. 
Upon reviewing their evidence as awhole,it seems to me impos- 
sible, without disbelieving the witnesses, to doubt, that Mr. Lowell 
did give the jury to understand, by whatever form of expression, 
that some of the heirs, and myself in particular, had acted 
oppressively and unjustly towards Mr. Boott, in accusing him, 
without any reasonable cause, of mismanaging the family prop- 
erty ; that they did refuse to sign a certain deed, on that 
account, unless the property were placed in other hands ; that it 
turned out, upon an accurate examination and careful making 
up of the accounts by Mr. Lowell himself, that the charges of 
mismanagement were wholly unfounded, and that the estate in 
fact owed Mr. Wright Boott, at the time, a clear balance of 
$25,000, for his advances beyond his receipts as executor; and 
that the unfair, or at least harsh proceedings of these heirs, with- 
out the slightest justification, so affected Mr. Wright Boolt, as, 
probably, to have led to his dealh ; and that Mr. Lowell, for some 
reason or other, took pains to impress the jury with his opi nion that 
this act of suicide was not the effect of insanity. According to 
Mr. Andrews, " it was my impression from all I heard and saw, 
that Mr. Lowell was extremely anxious to have Mr. Boott made 
out a sane man." 

Now the general question is, whether these statements of Mr. 
Lowell are, or are not, such as I have a right to complain of. 

This suggests many points of inquiry. What did the heirs, 
or any of them, and myself particularly, in fact do, or refuse to 
do unless upon condition? Was the condition, under the cir- 
cumstances, a proper one to be insisted on, or not ? Had they, 
or had they not, adequate reason to believe, that Mr. Wright 
Boott had mismanaged the trust property, and that he was not 
a suitable person to continue in charge of it? Was, or was 
not, Mr. John A. Lowell acquainted with the facts ? What sort 
5 



34 

of examination was had of the accounts, and how were they 
made up, upon what evidence, and how vouched ? Is it true, 
that a just and exact statement of them brought the estate in 
debt to the executor? Was there any thing unjust, oppressive, 
or harsh in the dealings of the heirs, and especially of myself, 
towards him in that relation ? Was he, or not, a sane man at 
this time, in the full sense of the term ? Was his self-destruction 
in March, 1845, fairly attributable to these proceedings and set- 
tlements, which were completed in December, 1844 ? What 
was the relation in which Mr. Lowell stood, at the time of 
his testimony, towards Mr. Wright Boott, and the family, 
and myself in particular, and what were the circumstances 
under which testimony was gone into before the coroner respect- 
ing the cause of his suicide, and upon what notice to those 
interested in the question? Had Mr. Lowell himself any inter- 
est in that question, by which his testimony may have been 
biassed ? And should he have given such testimony, under the 
very peculiar circumstances of this case, without acquainling 
the jury with the fact, that there was another side to the ques- 
tion, and that other witnesses, if sent for, would furnish evidence 
of a different character, and especially evidence tending to prove 
the insanity of the deceased? 

The most intelligible mode of answering these inquiries, I 
presume, will be a narrative of the material facts as they became 
known to me, with a reference to the proofs which exist, and with 
such remarks as occur, — although from the complexity of the 
case this cannot be accomplished in a brief compass. 

I begin with the facts concerning Mr. Wright Boott's fitness 
for the office of a trustee. 

At the time of my forming a connection with the family, 
I knew only, from common report, that Mr. Boott, senior, 
had been reputed a man of property ; and I knew, that, be- 
sides his widow, there were nine children to be provided for. 
I had no other acquaintance with their affairs. The first con- 
versation I ever had with Mr. Wright Boott, relating to the 
family property, was on the evening of my marriage. May 3, 1821. 
He then, of his own accord, took me aside and volunteered to 
inform me, that his sister would shortly have $20,000, as her por- 
tion of her father's estate ; that the estate was still unsettled, but 
was about to be settled very soon and divided among the heirs, 
and would give them $20,000 apiece. I asked no questions, 
and nothing more was said on the subject. My house had 
been previously furnished, without expense to me, and, as I sup- 
posed, out of my wife's portion. 

I neither made any inquiry, nor heard any thing more upon 
the subject, until about two and a half years after, when Mr. 
Wright Boott called upon me one day, which, by an entry in 



35 

my books, I am enabled to fix as December 29, 1823, and 
handed me his own promissory note for Ihe sum of $10,000, 
payable on demand with interest, and a check for $1,683.57. 
The former, he said, was on account of my wife's portion in her 
father's estate, and the latter for interest upon the sum since 
the day of my marriage ; and he requested me, if I had no 
objection to taking his note, to give a receipt to him, as execu- 
tor, for $10,000 received on thai account. This I gave without 
hesitation ; and neither made any inquiry, nor received any infor- 
mation, as to the expected residue. But I found, after Mr. Boott 
had left me, that the check was for compound, instead of simple, 
interest, which I thought wrong; and 1 immediately wrote him, 
enclosing a check for the difference, as a mistake ; but he sent it 
back to me and refused to receive it. I at first intended to insist 
on his accepting it; but on mentioning the occurrence to Mr. 
Kirk Boott, he advised me by no means to do so, as his brother 
would certainly take offence at it, and as this was only a partial 
payment, it might be corrected in the general settlement, if I 
chose. I conformed to his advice, and soon after sailed for Eng- 
land, and was absent in Europe a year or two. The note 
remained, with my other papers, in the hands of one of my broth- 
ers, with instructions never to call on Mr, Wright Boott about it, 
but to allow the promiser to do just what he pleased, in paying, 
or not paying. After my return, 1 found interest had been kept 
down, by semi-annual payments, but nothing had been said 
about paying the principal. 

I heard nothing more from Mr. Wright Boott on the sub- 
ject, except that interest, as it fell due, was punctually paid; 
and so the note remained in my hands till February, 1826, 
when it was transferred by me to Mr. Kirk Boott, at his request, 
and under the following circumstances. I received a letter 
from him, dated February 8, 1826, which will be found in the ap- 
pendix [ App. No. 7]. The object was to obtain a loan of $8,000, 
to be secured upon the reversionary share of his father's estate, 
which was to accrue to him on the demise of his mother, and 
for the purpose of making a settlement with his brother Wright, 
to whom, it appears, he was indebted upon an adjustment of 
their old partnership accounts. He says, " From recent commu- 
nications with my brother I find, that our losses in business 
proved very heavy, and that he is more in advance for me than I 
expected. As he is preparing to settle the estate and pay over 
the balances, it is incumbent on me to come to a settlement 
with him, and to do this I must either dispose of the greater 
part of my manufacturing stock, or procure a loan." He goes 
on to state, that it would be disadvantageous to him, in his 
agency at Chelmsford, now Lowell, as well as in a pecuniary 
point of view, to dispose of his Chelmsford stock (that is, his 



shares in the Merrimac Manufacturing Company), on which 
account he desired to make the loan, and says, " As Eliza's 
portion " (i. e. the portion of Mrs. Brooks) " will be paid you in 
a few months, perhaps you may be willing to take this loan." 
This led to a conversation when we met soon after ; and then, 
finding that I held Mr. Wright Boott's note for $10,000, he 
proposed to take that, as equivalent, for his purpose, to money, 
and to give me his own note in exchange for it, secured upon 
his reversionary share of his father's estate. 1 at once agreed to 
take the note, with the assent of Mrs. Brooks, but declined taking 
any collateral security. The exchange accordingly took place, Feb- 
ruary ]7, 1826, from which time I held Mr. Kirk Boott's simple 
note of hand, on which interest was regularly paid, as repre- 
senting so much of Mrs. Brooks's patrimony, until nearly two 
years after the death of that gentleman, which occurred in April, 
1837. It was finally paid by his executor, in the course of the 
settlement of his estate ; and in this mode I received the only 
money which ever came to me from the property of my wife. 

I have reason to believe, that Messrs. Lyman and Ralston re- 
ceived, also, by note, or otherwise, ^10,000 each, from Mr. 
Wright Boott, as a partial payment of the portions of their respec- 
tive wives. 

After the transaction between Mr. Wright Boott and myself, 
of December, 1823, above mentioned, I heard nothing more from 
him on the subject of property, nor said any thing to him about 
it, until August, 1830. I knew that he had withdrawn from 
trade on the dissolution of the firm of Boott & Lowell, and I 
supposed him to be a man of handsome property in his own 
right. I knew, also, that he had engaged largely in the Chelms- 
ford speculation, organized under the name of the Merrimac 
Manufacturing Company, out of which the Locks & Canals 
Corporation afterwards sprung, on a division of the property. 
That was well known to be a successful operation. I knew, 
also, that in the year 1826, he had become interested with his 
brothers-in-law, Messrs. Lyman and Ralston, in certain iron works 
on the Mill Dam ; but I knew nothing of the terms of the part- 
nership, or amount of property invested there, or of the details 
of the business. I had no reason to suppose that it was not a 
successful business, as it appeared to be carried on on a large 
scale. And this was about all I knew of Mr. Wright Boott's 
own affairs, or the affairs of his father's estate, which I had never 
inquired into, nor received any information upon, except as 
above stated, until the following interview occurred. 

Some day towards the end of August, 1830, while I was re- 
siding in the country, I was told, that a gentleman was in the 
parlor, who wished to see me immediately. I went into the 
parlor, and there found Mr. Wright Boott, evidently laboring 



37 

under some great mental excitement — so much so, that I was 
quite unable, for a considerable time, to understand from his re- 
marks what the matter was. I found, however, that it related 
to property, and to some pecuniary embarrassment. I prevailed 
upon him to sit down, and to endeavor to explain to me the state 
of his affairs. For that purpose, in the course of our conversa- 
tion, I handed him a piece of paper, on which he wrote, in pen- 
cil, a memorandum of them. It is still in my possession, and 
is in words and figures as follows : — 

« Mill Dam, 70,000 

Store, 15,000 

Note, Wells & Lilly, ... 14,000 

Sturgis, 42,000 . 21,000 

J. A. Lowell, 50,000 . 30,000 

Other Shares, 19,000 

Stable, 3,000 



^213,000." 

This requires some explanation to make it intelligible. The 
first column of figures is supposed to represent property ; the 
second, certain debts for which a portion of it was pledged. 
The first item signifies the amount which Mr. Wright Booit had 
at that time invested in the Mill Dam Foundry, or in the business 
there carried on by him in partnership with Messrs. Lyman & 
Ralston. The second item is a store in State Street, which was 
left him by his father, as a particular bounty, distinct from his share 
in ihe residue of the estate. The third item was a note of Messrs. 
Wells & Lilly, formerly booksellers in this city, whose affairs were 
in process of liquidation. Mr. Wells was ihe brother-in-law before 
mentioned. The note was payable to Mr. Wright Boott personally, 
and was for money lent to aid them in iheir business. It was, 
in truth, the note of Robert Lilly, the liquidator of that concern, 
though called, in the memorandum, the note of Wells & Lilly. 
The next three items were shares of manufacturing stock, viz. 
seventy-two shares in the Merrimac Manufacturing Company, 
at Lowell, and thirty-nine shares in the Boston Manufacturing 
Company, at Waltham. Forty-two of the former were pledged to 
the Hon. William Sturgis, or to J. P. Cushing, Esq., for whom 
he acted, as collateral security to Mr. Wright Boott's note for 
$21,000. Twenty-five of the former, and twenty-five of the lat- 
ter were pledged to Mr. J. A. Lowell, as collateral security to 
another note of Mr. Wright Boott, for $30,000. The remaining 
nineteen shares continued unpledged. The last item was a sta- 
ble, in rear of the family mansion house estate, which he had 
purchased from Mr. William Dehon a few years before. 



38 

"When this paper was handed me, I, at first, understood it to 
represent only his own property, and his own debts; and per- 
ceiving nothing very alarming in it, ahhough manufacturing 
stock was then in a depressed state, I inquired how the property 
of his father's estate was invested, and whether that was secure. 
His answer, to my great surprise, was, " This is all the property I 
have in my hands of any kind ;^^ and I then found that he had no 
means of distinguishing his own property from that which be- 
longed to his father's estate, with the exception of the store, which 
had been specifically devised to him, and that every thing stood 
in his own name, as if it were his own property. I made no re- 
mark upon that, but, upon inquiring farther as to the state of his 
affairs, I found that two difficulties embarrassed him. He 
was endorser, on certain paper of liyman & Ralston, soon 
to fall due, for $30,000, which they had no means of taking 
up, and which had been given to meet expenditures made 
under his own direction at the Iron Foundry. He was also 
guardian of the children of his cousin, the late Mr. Francis 
Boott, and there was a deficiency of $20,000 to be made good 
on that account, for which he was wholly unprovided, and his 
father's name was on his guardianship bond. His wish, then, 
seemed to be to make an assignment to me of all his effects ; 
which I told him could not be done. 

He had hardly made these disclosures, which were a com- 
plete surprise to me, when we w-ere interrupted, and he went 
away, requesting me, most earnestly, to call on him the moment 
I got to town the next morning, that the thing might be settled, 
and off his mind. 

I promised to do so, and called accordingly, but found him 
in a totally different frame of mind. He received me very coldly, 
and, indeed, would hardly speak to me. On my reminding him 
of onr meeting the evening before, and of the object of my visit, 
his only reply was, that he considered himself quite competent 
to manage his own affairs; and that when he should have any 
doubt of it, and should require my interference, or advice, he 
would take care to let me know it. 

I ascertained some days afterwards, that his visit to me was 
made at the suggestion of his brother, Mr. Kirk Boott, to whom 
he had stated his conviction, that Mr. Lyman, Mr. Ralston, and 
myself, were in a plot to ruin him. His brother ridiculed the 
notion, and advised him to call and have a free conversation 
with me. It will appear from the letters of Mr. Kirk Boott, in 
the appendix [No. 8], that the disclosure of the state of his 
brother's affairs, was as great a surprise to him as to me. 

This statement of Mr. Wright Boott's affairs I afterwards found 
to be correct, except that he had, in his own name, at the time, a 
somewhat larger number of shares in those two companies than 



39 

the memorandum mentions. But the excess he considered, and 
so explained to me at the time, as belonging to the family of Mr. 
Francis Boott — and he, sometime after, transferred those shares to 
himself, as guardian and trustee. But the $20,000 he spoke of, 
as due on his guardianship account, was a money balance, irre- 
spective of those shares. 

From this statement, which was intended to represent all 
the property Mr. Wright Boott then held, either on his own ac- 
count, or on the account of his father's estate, it will appear, that 
his affairs at that time stood thus: — His debts and liabilities, om^ 
of the family^ and beyond the capital needful for the daily business 
of the Iron Foundry, then in full operation, were, — 

On his guardianship account, $20,000 

His own notes to Messrs. Sturgis and Lowell, . . 51,000 
As endorser of Lyman & Ralston, .... 30,000 

In all, $101,000 

Besides which he was liable, as a partner with Lyman 
& Ralston, for the general debts of that concern, 
stated by Mr. Kirk Boott (See App. No. 8, letter dat- 
ed Tuesday evening,) to be at least . $80,000 
Of this, I presume, the notes above mentioned 
were a part, and are to be deducted, 



$151,000 



The nominal assets in his hands, of every kind, were $213,000 
But of these, the largest item, the investment in the 
Iron Foundry, was of very doubtful vahie, and 
scarcely available for an emergency — it turned out 

nothing, $70,000 

And the note of Mr. Robert Lilly, though event- 
ually paid, was quite unavailable, . . 14,000 — 81,000 



Leaving, of available property, only . . . $129,000 
And of this, there were specifically pledged, for his pri- 
vate notes above mentioned, ninety-two shares of 
the manufacturing stock, estimated at . . . $92,000 

Leaving free and immediately available, at its market 

price, property estimated at $37,000 

Which was to meet his endorsement of . $30,000 

And the balance of his guardianship account, 20,000 

And the general debts of Lyman & Ralston, 

in the event of thek failure, . . . 50,000-100,000 



40 

So that he had at that time, literally, nothing to show for the 
considerable estate which he was supposed to hold in trust for 
his mother, brothers, and sisters, and was in danger of insolvency, 
even if the whole property of the estate were appropriated to his 
use. This state of affairs, confidentially known to Mr. Kirk 
Boott and myself, as appears by his letters, in the appendix, was, 
of course, carefully kept, as far as possible, from the knowledge of 
others. Messrs. Lyman and Ralston knew their own troubles, and 
that Mr. Wright Boott was embarrassed by endorsements on their 
paper; and they knew, probably, to some extent, his other embar- 
rassments. Mrs. Boott, and perhaps others of the family, must 
have perceived that something was amiss; but I presume none 
of them were aware of the full extent of the difficulty, nor of the 
true state of the trust property. I do not know that Mr. John A. 
Lowell was, at that time, aware of it, though he soon afterwards 
became so. The greatest apprehension was of course felt, by 
Mr. Kirk Boott and myself, as fully appears by his letters, lest 
Mrs. Boo It should, in consequence, be greatly abridged of her 
means of comfortable support, if not left absolutely destitute. Mr. 
Wright Boott, himself, was in the greatest distress, not only on 
that account, but also on account of the wards, whose property 
was in his hands. This cannot be made more apparent than by 
his own language, in a note to his brother, Mr. Kirk Boott, extract- 
ed and copied by him in his letter to me of September 29, 1830, 
(App. No. 8.) as'follows: — "If that sum " (referring to the $20,- 

000 due on his guardianship account,) "should not be paid in 
full, I am not only ruined in property, but in reputation for 
ever. I am indifferent about the future, as respects myself, as 
to the means of subsistence ; but to bear a brand of dishonor, 

1 cannot contemplate with composure. And besides, if the chil- 
dren are paid in full, and this claim of theirs also," [meaning 
the debt of Lyman and Ralston,] "the whole burthen will fall 
upon my poor mother, who will have means so diminished that 
her comfort and happiness will be destroyed, and if her mind 
should dwell much on her situation, you will see her health de- 
cline — perhaps destroyed. I do wish, now, that the property 
was taken out of my hands, to be appropriated as I first pointed 
out. I am bound hand and foot, and can do nothing of my-elf. 
It is certainly equally for the interest of the heirs, that the fund 
left to my mother should be made good ; it will come to them 
eventually." 

This trouble, however, which continued long to agitate us, was 
postponed for that time, by renewal of the more pressing de- 
mands. 

I had no further communication with Mr. Wright Boott, on 
business, for several months, when he was again compelled to 
call in the aid of his friends. Mr. J. A. Lowell, at this time at 



41 

least, became acquainted with the state of his affairs. Property 
of all kinds was in a state of great depression, and the note of 
Lyman & Ralston, for $30,000, on which Mr. Wright Boott 
was endorser, had come round, after several renewals, and must 
be taken up. 

How I was brought into the consultation, at this juncture, I 
do not now distinctly remember ; but I well recollect, that Mr. 
Kirk Boott, Mr. J. A. Lowell, and myself, were jointly in- 
strumental in bringing about a settlement. The pressing 
amount of $30,000 was to be raised out of the above items 
of property. At this time the most available fund for the pur- 
pose, bad as it was, was the Mill Dam foundry. The largest 
part of the manufacturing stocks was already in the hands of 
Messrs. Lowell and Sturgis, and, owing to the depressed state of 
the business, such property was at a ruinous discount. But it was 
found, that $30,000 might be raised upon a mortgage of the foun- 
dry, as a friendly, rather than a business arrangement. But Mr. 
Wright Boott, and we as his friends, insisted, that if he should 
execute a mortgage of the Mill Dam foundry, to raise funds to 
take up the note of Lyman & Ralston, it would be unjust ; 
since it would leave the balance due by Mr. Wright Boott as 
guardian unprovided for ; and this we were very anxious should 
be paid in full. I refer to the letters of Mr. Kirk Boott, in the 
appendix, for an explanation of our views on this point. 

It was finally arranged, that this mortgage should be made of 
the Mill Dam property, to raise the $30,000, and take up the note 
of Lyman & Ralston for that amount, on condition that Lyman 
& Ralston and their wives, both of them sisters of Mr. Wright 
Boott, should assign to Mm all their reversionary interest in their 
father's estate. Their present property, so far as received, had 
already gone ; and whatever was due to them, being due to their 
husbands, was merged in the partnership business. This ar- 
rangement was accordingly effected, in September, 1831, Mr. 
J. A. Lowell being one of the persons who called on those la- 
dies, for the purpose of procuring their signatures to the neces- 
sary papers. [App. No. 9.] 

Acting as the friend of Mr. Wright Boott, and the ladies being 
supposed to have their own husbands to protect their interests, I 
agreed to this arrangement, and cooperated with Mr. Lowell in 
effecting it. I do not know, now, that any other could have been 
made, to prevent a ruinous failure. But I have since been led to 
doubt its propriety, and to regret my agency in it, seeing how it 
has turned out in respect to the present position of Mrs. Lyman. 
This subject I shall have occasion to advert to again in another 
connection. 

A release, so obtained, from his endorsement of Lyman & Rals- 
ton's note for $30,000, was the only advantage ever realized by 
6 



42 

Mr. Wright Boott from the $70,000 invested by him in the Mill 
Dam speculation. The mortgagee, who was one of Mr. Ral- 
ston's family, afterwards took possession, and foreclosed the 
mortgage. 

The balance of $20,000, on the guardianship account, still re- 
mained unpaid. This was a matter of great uneasiness to myself 
and Mr. Kirk Boott, as will be seen by his letters to me, the whole 
estate of Mr. Boott, the father, being liable for the payment of it. 
Mr. Wright Boott, however, in the midst of his pressure with 
the partnership concern at the Mill Dam, had been, with some 
difficulty, persuaded to convey to me the debt due him from 
Mr. Robert Lilly, then reduced, by a partial payment, to about 
$13,000, and twenty shares of his unpledged manufacturing 
stock, then worth in the market about $17,000, in trust, first, to 
make good any balances that might be found due from him to 
the children of the late Mr. Francis Boott, in a final settlement 
and adjustment of his accounts as guardian ; secondly, to hold 
the surplus to his order, as executor oi his father's will, in consid- 
eration of the fact, which the instrument of trust recites, that he 
" is indebted to the estate of the late Kirk Boott, Esq., deceased, 
in his said capacity of executor ;" and in case of his death, or 
resignation, (then contemplated as a contingency not improba- 
ble,) the said surplus was to be held to the order of any future 
administrator. But payment of the note, so transferred to me in 
trust, was not to be enforced, nor the stocks sold, without the spe- 
cial order of Mr. Wright Boott, or those claiming under him, or 
by order of law. This occurred May 23, 1831, as appears by the 
instrument of trust. [See App. No. 10.] 

It will be seen, by reference to the foregoing memorandum of 
Mr. Wright Boot himself, which left only nineteen shares of man- 
ufacturing stock unpledged, besides those which he considered 
himself as holding specifically for his guardianship account, that, 
after this conveyance to me in trust, which took up the said nine- 
teen shares, and one more which he considered himself to be 
holding as guardian, but had not yet transferred to himself in 
that capacity, that there was no property of any kind standing in 
his name, either personally, or as executor, or trustee, under the 
will of his father, excepting the store in State Street, which was 
undoubtedly his own property, and a small stable, purchased by, 
and conveyed to, himself, in 1825. All the other shares which he 
held at the time of his memorandum of August, 1830, and which 
he did not reckon, in that estimate, because he considered them as 
belonging to the family of the late Mr. Francis Boott, he had, im- 
mediately before the above-mentioned conveyance to me, trans- 
ferred to himself as trustee, or guardian, for the different mem- 
bers of the family. [See account of transfers of stocks, App. 
Nos. 16, 17.] So that all the property, of every kind, belonging 



43 

to his father's estate, over which he had any control, was, at this 
time, out of his own hands, and stood pledged for his individual 
debts, due to persons out of the family. It will also be seen, by 
reference to Mr. Kirk Boott's letters, how well it was understood, 
at that time, not only by him, but by Mr. Wright Boott himself, 
that all the property at his command, subject to those pledges, was 
utterly insufficient to discharge his just debt to his own family, and 
secure the outstanding trusts of his father's will. In one of those 
letters, dated " Tuesday evening," [See App. No. 8,] Mr. Kirk 
Boott remarks, — " The endorsements for R. & L. are no debts 
of his, and securing to them a just proportion of what he may 
owe them as executor, is all, under the circumstances, they can 
justly ask." In another, dated May 22, 1831, [See App. as 
above,] he says, " The mortgage of the Mill Dam, I presume, is 
made entirely for L. & R.'s debts, and if the property is worth only 
half of what they estimate it at, this ivill cover any demands they 
have on J. W. B. as executor. His reversion of the estate, which he 
says he will never touch a cent of might be pledged as security 
for his endorsements, and in justice, perhaps, this is all the E-.'s 
can claim." Yet he had already paid to Lyman, and to Ralston, 
as he had to me, $10,000 each, on account of the sum due to 
their wives, and the debt spoken of is what was understood to be 
due beyond that. • 

The question, then, at once arises, if this was the admitted 
state of his accounts as executor, in 1831, what has occurred 
since to shift the balance, and bring the estate in debt to him ? 
This Mr. Lowell must be expected to show, and we shall pres- 
ently see how he does it. 

On the same day of the conveyance to me in trust. May 23, 
1831, Mr. Lowell conveyed to Mr. Wright Boott, in his capacity 
of executor of his father's will, the shares of manufacturing stock 
held in pledge by him as security for Mr. Wright Boott's pri- 
vate note for $30,000 ; Mr. Wright Boott thereupon gave a 
new note as executor, and re-conveyed, in that capacity, the 
same shares to Mr. Lowell, as security for this new note. 
The object of this arrangement was, to prevent the attachment 
of said shares, by any creditor of Mr. Wright Boott, for their 
value above the debt to Mr. Lowell. It was made in con- 
sequence of a conversation between Mr. Lowell and myself, 
in which we agreed that the shares pledged to him, aUhough 
standing at the time in the name of Mr. Wright Boott, were in 
reality a part of the assets of his father's estate, and the above 
was the best expedient we could think of to remedy the mis- 
chief, so far as to secure tliera against any other creditor than 
Mr. Lowell himself A similar arrangement was made a few 
days afterwards, with Mr. Sturgis, as the agent of Mr. Gushing, 
respecting the forty-two shares held in pledge by him. The sta- 



44 

ble, which stood in his own individual name, was, also, about 
the same time, transferred to himself, as executor. [See account 
of transfers of stocks, App. Nos. 16, 17, — and Deed, App. 
No. 11.) 

Notwithstanding these arrangements, the pressure of Mr. Wright 
Boott's circumstances still continued to be a subject of great 
solicitude to Mr. Kirk Boott and myself, especially as we found it 
difficult to advise, or control him, in any judicious course. It was 
apparent, that the whole salvation of the family property, or of so 
much of it as might remain after the extrication of Mr. Wright 
Boott himself from his private embarrassments, must depend on 
prudent management ; and that these objects could be accom- 
plished only by preventing a sacrifice of the manufacturing pro- 
perty, in which we had confidence ; and we united in the opinion, 
that there ought to be a great reduction of the family expenses, 
and that the true interest of all concerned made it desirable, that 
Mrs. Boott should give up the family mansion, and take a 
smaller house, agreeably to the provisions of the will. But Mr. 
Wright Boott was quite unapproachable on such subjects — as 
much so by his own brother as by myself. This will appear by 
Mr. Kirk Boott's letter below, written while the change here 
alluded to was in our contemplation at least, and when some 
hint of its expediency had probably been given to Mrs. Boott, 
who had thereupon conferred with Mr. Wright Boott, and had 
found the idea quite discountenanced by him. 

The letter referred to is a short one, as follows : — 

" Lowell, May 10, 1833. 
"My Dear Sir: 

After I saw you on 'Change, this morning, my mother re- 
quested me not to mention, to any one, the interview I had with 
her on Wednesday evening, and I will therefore thank you to 
forget what I communicated. 

I have some misgivings that if I meddle at all, I map do more 
harm than good; and I am not sure that any of the parties 
exactly know what they would be at. If I can put into shape 
what I feel, so as to incur little risk of giving offence, I think I 
shall write to J. W. B. ; but I am very sensible how ticklish an 
affair this is. If you can give me the benefit of your advice, 
you may depend upon it, I can keep it to myself. I still think 
the best thing mother can do, is to leave the house in the Square, 
and take a smaller one. And I am safisfied, if it should be so 
considered by others, she would consent. I have some thoughts 
of going down on Sunday ; in which case, I hope to be able to 
see you in the evening. 

Yours truly, 

KIRK BOOTT." 



45 

But, notwithstanding that the peculiarities of Mr. Wright 
Boott's character were such as to make all, who were connected 
with him, unwilling to break in on his habitual reserve with unso- 
licited advice, and notwithstanding that he had sometimes given 
just offence, by unreasonable and harsh conduct towards brothers 
and sisters, there was great tenderness of attachment to him in 
the family, mixed with a peculiar deference in the younger 
members, arising from his having stood towards them, for many 
years, in the place of a father. The disastrous result of the busi- 
ness at the Mill Dam had, at last, become matter of notoriety. 
It had come to be understood in the family, that he had been a 
great loser, and that property had been lost in which the heirs of 
his father's estate had an interest, though the extent of the calam- 
ity was known only to Mr. Kirk Boott and myself. It was ap- 
parent, or, at least, it was believed, that the fact of his indebted- 
ness to the heirs, among other things, preyed heavily upon him. 
Every member of the family felt great sympathy for him, under 
the misfortune. He was, himself, most solicitous to get relieved 
from some part of his burden. Under these circumstances, it was 
agreed, a few weeks before the date of the letter above quoted, 
among all the heirs who were then in this country, except 
Messrs. Lyman and Ralston and their wives, whose whole re- 
maining property in the estate had already been conveyed to 
him, to relieve him, as far as possible, from his embarrassments, 
by executing the following paper, which is on file in the Probate 
office. 

" The undersigned, heirs at law of the late Kirk Boott, of 
Boston, Esquire, do hereby exonerate and discharge John W. 
Boott, executor of the last will and testament of Kirk Boott, 
from all claims and demands in his capacity as executor as 
aforesaid. Witness our hands and seals. 

Kirk Boott, 
Anne Boott, 
W. Wells, 
Frances Wells, 
Edward Brooks, 
Eliza Brooks, 
Wm. Boott, 
James Boott. 
April 14, 1833." 

This paper was, I think, drawn up by myself; at any rate I 
very readily signed it, as did all the rest. The intention of it 
was, and such I presume is its legal effect, to set Mr. Wright 
Boott free from all claims which the parties who signed it then 
had upon him, as executor, for any portion of his father's es- 



46 

tate, which he ought before that date to have divided among 
them, beyond what they had respectively received. They, of 
course, did not intend to part with mere reversionary rights, which 
might accrue to them at the decease of Mrs. Boott, nor to acquit 
him of a fair settlement of his accounts for the future, in respect 
of property which the will had appropriated for particular trusts, 
yet unexpired. His present liability, as executor, was dis- 
charged ; his responsibilities, present or future, as trustee, were 
untouched. 

The paper, itself, sufficiently indicates, that it was well un- 
derstood by the signers, in April, 1833, that they had unsat- 
isfied claims on Mr. Wright Boott, as executor, to release ; 
or, in other words, that more or less of the property, which should 
have come into their possession prior to that date, had been lost 
through his mismanagement. It must, also, be received as 
satisfactory proof, that there was not, at that time, any dispo- 
sition on my part, or on the part of any one of those brothers and 
sisters, to "crowd him" (according to the phrase testified to by 
one of the coroner's jury), on account of any incorrectness in his 
proceedings. 

Not long after this, there was a general improvement in affairs, 
which relieved Mr. Kirk Boott and myself from the awkward- 
ness of appearing to interfere in Mr. Wright Boott's business 
farther than he had himself invited, or than circumstances had 
absolutely compelled. 

The business of the Mill Dam foundry, so far as Mr. Wright 
Boott's concern in it extended, was gradually wound up, leav- 
ing the residuum subject to the mortgage above mentioned, 
in which it was finally absorbed. Property, generally, had 
become restored to its usual value, and the manufacturing 
companies made good dividends. The store in Slate street, 
Mr. Wright Boott had been enabled to sell for $1,000 more 
than it had been estimated at in his memorandum. The pro- 
ceeds ($16,000) and receipts from dividends on the manufac- 
turing stock had enabled him to pay off" his debt of $21,000 to 
Mr. Sturgis, and to relieve the forty-two shares of the Merri- 
mac stock which had been pledged in that quarter. But, in 
the mean time, he had been obliged to rely on Mr. Lowell, I 
presume, for some further aid ; for, in the course of these transac- 
tions, twenty-one of those shares appear to have been transferred 
to Mr. Lowell, who already held ample security for his former 
loan of $30,000; the remaining twenty-one shares were now 
restored to Mr. Wright Boott in his capacity of executor. [See 
the accounts of the transfers of stocks, App., Nos. 16, 17.] 

I now revert to the property held by me in trust, under the 
agreement of May 23, 1831. A verbal agreement was, soon af- 
ter, made, between Mr. Wright Boott and myself, that all divi- 



47 

dends and interest, received by me on the stocks and note which 
I held under that trust, should be applied to the reduction of his 
debt to Mr. Lowell ; — the object being, to relieve, by such grad- 
ual payments, the stocks held by Mr. Lowell in pledge for that 
debt, but which, in equity, belonged to the family estate, when- 
ever it could be done without eventually impairing a sufficiency 
of security in my hands to cover, in all events, the balances of his 
accounts as guardian of the children of Mr. Francis Boott. Im- 
mediately after this verbal agreement, I received from Mr. Wright 
Boott a letter, (see App. No. 12,) by which it appears, that, 
happening to have $5,000 of money on hand, from what source 
I am unable now to ascertain, he had applied it to the payment 
of Mr. Lowell, reducing his debt there from $30,000 to $25,000. 
This payment he considered as made in anticipation of receipts 
from the property in my hands ; and, consequently, requested me 
to send him a check for such sums as I had then received, and to 
hand over to him the interest on Mr. Lilly's note, when it should 
be collected. This I readily agreed to, and paid over to him, 
accordingly, on the following day, Nov. 23, 1831, $1,440, — the 
amount of dividends then in my hands, — as appears by his re- 
ceipt of that date. [App. No. 13]. 

This went, of course, towards his reimbursement for the 
$5,000 he had paid to Mr, Lowell. But, when the interest on 
Lilly's note came round, and was collected, this became the sub- 
ject of a new agreement between Mr. Wright Boott and myself, 
as his receipt for it, dated Jan. 1, 1832, expresses. [App. 
No. 13.] By this it was to be applied, specifically, to the further 
reduction of his debt to Mr. Lowell. And in all subsequent 
cases of monies collected by me, after that date, and paid over to 
him, during the continuance of my trust, whether for dividends, 
interest, or principal, the understanding was, that the same appli- 
cation was to be made of the monies. This, his receipts, with 
few exceptions, distinctly express. In one case, the application 
expressed is, " towards paying the interest on my note to J. A. 
Lowell ; " — in another it is, " towards paying the interest 
on my notes to J. P. Cnshing and J. A. Lowell." In two 
instances, the form of the receipt was, a promise to ac- 
count for the money, in general terms, understood, however, 
to mean by payment to Mr. Lowell. Two others are, in terms, 
mere general receipts for money, without expressing any thing 
concerning its application. The understanding, however, was, 
as before stated. With these exceptions, all the receipts state an 
engagement, on his part, in terms, that the monies should be ap- 
plied to the reduction of his debt to Mr. Lowell. [App. 
No. 13.] And such was, undoubtedly, his intention, when they 
were given. Yet, it would seem, either that the intention was 
never executed by him, in consequence of some more immediate 
call upon him for money, or else, if the payments were actually 



48 

made to Mr. L., that their eftect was counteracted by new loans, 
not communicated to me, so that no further reduction of the total 
debt ever occurred, after the payment of the $5,000 above noticed. 

This appears from the fact, that my entire collections, before 
the termination of my trust, as the receipts show, were $11,822. 
Of this, $2,000, included in the last receipt from Mr. Wright 
Boott, dated Nov. 11, 1834, was handed by myself, personally, 
to Mr. Lowell, pursuant to Mr. TJoott's request. The remaining 
$9,822 were paid by me to Mr. Boott, — $1,440 of it, towards 
his reimbursement for the $5,000 already paid by him to Mr. 
Lowell, — the residue, $8,000 and upwards, upon the understand- 
ing that it was to be paid by him to Mr. Lowell, as the receipts 
usually express. This sum, so applied, in addition to the $2,000 
paid by me directly to Mr. Lowell, should have reduced his debt, 
unless new loans were made, from $25,000 to about $15,000. 
Interest upon that debt must, ordinarily, have been more than 
kept down by the dividends received by Mr. Lowell himself, 
from the stocks in his hands. The receipts of Dec. 4, 1832, and 
Jan. 1, 1833, show an exception, only, at those dates. Yet, it is 
certain, that at the time of the settlement of accounts in Decem- 
ber, 1844, which will presently be spoken of, the balance of prin- 
cipal, claimed by Mr. Lowell as still due, remained at $25,000, 
precisely as it was after the payment of the $5,000, in November, 
1831. That is to say, presuming that to have been the true bal- 
ance of debt, Mr. Wright Boott had not so managed his affairs, 
during those thirteen years, as to have been able to reduce the debt 
one dollar, notwithstanding that he had received from me, within 
the first three years of the series, by payment, either to himself, 
or to Mr. Lowell, upwards of $10,000, for that specific object, 
and notwithstanding that the aggregate of income, from all his 
manufacturing stocks, had averaged, during the entire period, 
between $12,000 and $13,000 a year, and was, in one year, little 
short of $30,000. How this should have happened, Mr. Lowell, 
perhaps, can explain. For myself, I know nothing of the ar- 
rangements between him and Mr. Wright Boott. I knew only 
the facts above stated, for which I refer to the receipts in the ap- 
pendix, (No. 13,) with the additional explanation, that, out of the 
sum of $2,360, included in the last of those receipts, dated Nov. 
12, 1834, the $2,000, above spoken of, was handed by me to Mr. 
Lowell, Oct. 22, 1834, as appears by an entry in my books of 
that date. 

In Feb., 1835, the balance of Lilly's note was finally paid. 
From its proceeds, and dividends on the manufacturing stock, 
Mr. Wright Boott was enabled to pay up and settle his guardian- 
ship accounts, whereby both he and his father's estate were relieved 
from that liability ; and I thereupon reconveyed to him, Feb. 20, 
1835, the shares in the Merrimac and Boston Manufacturing 



49 

Companies, which I had held in trust to secure his wards. 
These shares were then, for the first time, placed in his name, as 
executor, and my declaration of trust, which, since its date, had 
remained in Mr. Wright Boott's hands, was cancelled, and given 
up to me. — Mr. Lowell and myself assisted him in the adjust- 
ment of those accounts. How much he required such assistance, 
and the peculiarity of his ideas in such matters, are illustrated by 
the fact, that he, for a long time, insisted upon making them up 
with interest compounded, at frequent intervals, although he 
charged nothing for his services. The compound interest would 
have made a difference of about ^10,000 in the amount to be 
paid. And he could hardly be persuaded not to account on 
that false principle, ahhough it was apparent that the money he 
would so appropriate, belonged to his fatherH estate, and not 
to him. Left to himself, he would have taken the property of 
his brothers and sisters, for the purpose oi giving it to his wards, 
under the idea that it was no more than duty required. We 
succeeded, however, in rectifying his accounts in that, and some 
other particulars, and nothing being charged for the services of 
nearly twenty years, the heirs of Mr. Francis Boolt, who knew 
nothing of the hazard to which their property had been put, were 
extremely well satisfied with the settlement. 

The result of Mr. Wright Boott's position, after this settlement, 
in February, 1835, compared with his position at the time he 
exhibited his statement to me, in 'August, 1830, was this. He 
then showed nominal property in his hands to the amount of 
$213,000, as specified in his memorandum, subject to the claims 
of Mr. Sturgis and Mr. Lowell, there stated, and to his liabilities 
for Lyman and Ralston, and for the money balance due on his 
guardianship accounts. He had discharged those debts and lia- 
bilities, with the exception of the amount, whatever it was, re- 
maining due to Mr. Lowell. In effecting this, the property men- 
tioned in his memorandum had been disposed of as follows. 
The Iron Foundry, set down at $70,000, had gone to pay his 
liabilities as endorser for Lyman & Ralston to the amount of 
$30,000. His store in State street, which he had estimated 
at $15,000, and which produced $16,000, had contributed 
to the payment of the debt to Mr. Sturgis. The note of Mr. 
Robert Lilly for $14,000 had been collected. These sums, with 
a portion of the dividends upon the manufacturing stock, 
referred to in his memorandum, had been applied to the extin- 
guishment of his personal debts. One share of that slock 
had gone into the settlement of his guardianship account. 
There remained the stable, estimated by him at $3,000, but 
afterwards appraised and finally sold at $1,500, and 110 shares 
of manufacturing stock, namely, 71 of the Merrimac Manu- 
facturing Company, and 39 of the Boston Manufacturing Cora= 
7 



50 

pany, all of which had been purchased with funds belonging 
to his father's estate, but of which 46 shares in the Merrimac 
Company and 25 in the Boston Manufacturing Company re- 
mained pledged to Mr. Lowell for his personal debts ; 21 
shares of the Merrimac had been restored to him by Mr. Stur- 
gis, and 6 by myself These had been transferred to him as 
executor; but two of thera he had sold. [App. No. 16.] 
This left 25 shares of the Merrimac Manufacturing Com- 
pany, and 14 of the Boston Manufacturing Company, and the 
stable still held by him unpledged, to represent the trusts under 
his father's will. Rating the stocks at par, and the stable at 
its appraised value, the amount of the unpledged property was 
only $40,500 ; while the trust funds established by the will were 
upwards of $111,000. The whole property, pledged and un- 
pledged, estimating the stocks at par, was . $111,500 
but the debt for which much the larger portion of it stood 

pledged to Mr. Low^ell was, at least, . . 25,000 
And from the magnitude of the security required and 

held by Mr. Lowell, I presume it must have been, at 

that time, much more. But calling it $25,000 only, 

there remained a balance of only . . . 86,500 

to meet a trust of . . . $111,000 

The stocks are here estimated at par. Their true market 
value, it is well known, fluctuated considerably. At times they 
had been much above, and at times much below their par 
value. At the time of his exhibit to me, in August, 1830, the 
market price of Merrimac was only $900 per share, and that 
of Boston Manufacturing Company, $666.67. Afterwards, the 
Merrimac stock became worth a large advance ; but that of the 
Boston Manufacturing Company never fully regained its former 
value. 

This was precisely the position of things in April, 1844, when 
a sale of the Mansion House was determined on. And, taking 
the valuation of the stocks according to the market price of that 
period, which was for the Merrimac stock about $1350 per 
share, and for the Waltham stock about $725 per share, the 
whole amount of property in the hands of Mr. Wright Boott, or 
of Mr. Lowell, as his pledgee, besides his books, plants, and other 
articles of personal use, was about $125,000, out of which was to 
come his debt to Mr. Lowell, which would leave barely enough 
to satisfy the trust of $100,000 for the benefit of Mrs. Boott. In- 
deed, it will presently be seen, that there was, at the time of the 
settlement, an actual deficiency. 

In order, however, more fully to understand the grounds on 
which certain members of the family acted in 1844, it is neces- 
sary, now, to go back to the time of the death of Mr. Kirk Boott, 
the elder, which took place in January, 1817, and to state certain 



51 

other matters, which had occurred in this interval of 27 years. 
Some of the provisions of that gentleman's will, made in 1813, with 
a codicil added in 1815, have been already referred to in general 
terms. It may be well to state its principal contents somewhat 
more particularly, — referring, for the accuracy of the statement, 
to an attested copy of the instrument. [App. No. 1.] 

By the original will, two sums, of ^5,555 each, were di- 
rected " to be placed out at interest on g-ood secvriti/" the 
income of which was to be paid to two sisters of the testator, 
during their respective lives. A sum of $100,000 was also 
directed ^'io be placed out at interest on good security, the 
interest money on which, as it shall arise," was to be paid to 
his widow during her life, for her own support, and also (until 
this provision was altered by the codicil), for the support and 
education of the minor children. The executors were also ap- 
pointed " trustees for the investment of the monies of the three 
above-mentioned legacies, to receive the interest and to pay it as 
devised." The use of the house, rent free, was given to the 
widow for life ; and all the household furniture and other arti- 
cles in it were bequeathed to her. The store in State street was 
specifically devised to his son, John Wright Boott ; and also a 
share in the Boston Athenaeum, " in consideration of his good 
conduct, which has ever been satisfactory to me." " The money 
legacies" (meaning those above spoken of), "are to be paid out 
of the proceeds of the mortgages, bonds, notes, accounts, 7nerchan- 
dise, cash, shares in incorporated companies, and stock in the 
public funds which I may die possessed of." The residue of the 
personal estate was given equally to all the testator's children ; 
" but the proportional part bequeathed to each child who may 
be minors at my decease, I leave to be placed out at interest on 
good security,^'' till they shall arrive at 21 years of age, when the 
share of each is directed to be paid. The house is ordered to 
be sold at the demise of his widow, and the proceeds, together 
with the principal of Mrs. Bootl's annuity fund, are, at that time, 
to be distributed among the children, — the principal of the 
other annuity funds to be distributed, at the death of the respec- 
tive annuitants ; at least, this seems the most probable construc- 
tion, although there is some obscurity in the will on that point. 
Any property previously undisposed of was left to the widow, 
which clause gave to her real estate only, as all the personal 
estate was already bequeathed. 

The codicil declares, that the trade in which the testator 
was then engaged with his son, John Wright Boott, had been 
" considerably entered into," and could not be closed in a 
short time without great sacrifice; for which reason his said son 
is directed to carry it on " in the name of the firm, and for and 
on account of myself and him, in the same proportion of profit 



52 

or loss, as it may be, as it has heretofore been done, until the 
19lh day of March, 1818." This proportion, as elsewhere stated, 
was one fourth to his son and three fourths to himself. And it is 
directed, that no division of the property shall take place till the 
said 19th of March, 1818, in order that, in the interim, the execu- 
tors '• may be investing the money which I have bequeathed in 
trust." The annuity fund for his sisters they are recommended 
to invest in England ; and the $100,000 for his wife they are 
authorized "to invest in such stocks^ or mortgages, as shall ap- 
pear best to them." Until the said 19th of March, he directs 
that the interest on these investments shall be taken into the ac- 
count of the trade, and that his family shall be maintained at the 
general charge of his estate. In respect to the minor children, 
his will is so far altered as to direct, that all expenses for 
their clothing and education shall be allowed the widow. 
Certain provisions are then made that his son Francis (now 
Dr. Boott, of London), if he should so elect, and his son James, 
when of age, might be admitted into the firm ; and that the 
shares of the minor children might, during their minority, 
be lent at interest to those of the sons who should carry on 
the trade. The executors are farther directed to pay to his 
sons, Kirk and Francis, within one year from his decease, in- 
stead of waiting for the time of general division, " $10,000 each, 
in part of ivhat is bequeathed to them, they paying interest 
for it vntil the 19th of March, 1818;" and they are author- 
ized to sell the house on his wife's request, in case she should 
find it " too large or inconvenient for her establishment, or if, from 
any accident, the money which is to be laid out and held in 
trust to procure her an income for her support should suffer loss, 
so as not to be sufficient for her comfortable support ; " and they 
are further authorized, in such event, to purchase a smaller house, 
with the proceeds, for her use during her life, and invest the 
surplus in trust to pay her the income. Six persons were named 
executors, and declared to be also "trustees and guardians for 
my children." 

It is remarkable that scarcel}' one of the important provisions of 
this will was ever complied with. The testator intended that a 
number of persons should jointly execute its trusts. Yet all de- 
clined except Mr. Wright Boott, and the duties of executor, trustee, 
and guardian, joined to those of a surviving partner, devolved on 
him solely, — which of itself destroyed a principal security, 
intended by the testator, against injudicious management. 
The testator positively directed specific investment by his 
trustees of three distinct funds, which were to furnish an in- 
come to his wife and his sisters. No such distinct investments 
appear to have been made. An aggregate amount, not clearly 
separated from the general funds of the estate, though prob- 



53 

ably intended to be set apart for those objects, seems to 
have been, at first, invested with that view ; but whether as trust 
property, in the name of Mr. Wright Boott as executor^ or irvstee, 
or in his own individual name only, does not distinctly appear. 
At any rate, whatever was so invested, or set apart, was after- 
wards sold and converted into private securities in the individual 
name of John Wright Boott, and became undistinguishable from 
his own property. The will contemplates an actual division 
among the heirs, by a certain day, of all the personal property re- 
maining after the formation of the trust funds, and that the shares 
of those who were of age should then be paid to them, and the 
shares of the minors be placed out at interest on good security, 
and held in trust for them until they should come of age. But 
no such division took place, then, or afterwards ; there never was 
a settlement with any one heir ; some received more and some 
less ; none ever knew with certainty what they were entitled to, 
or what they might expect ; and nothing was ever placed out at 
interest, or lent to the firm, so far as appears, for the specific 
account of the minor children. It was intended, that the house 
should be occupied by the widow, for her own personal accom- 
modation, unless found inconvenient for either of the causes 
suggested in the will, in which case it was to be sold, and the 
proceeds invested in a smaller house for her use, and the balance 
was to form a new trust fund, for her benefit, during her life. She 
lived in the house, it is true, many years ; but in 1836 she re- 
moved to England ; and for eight years after, it was neither 
occupied by her, nor sold, nor rented ; but was occupied by Mr. 
Wright Boott solely, except that some other members of the 
family lived with him for short periods ; and it was so occupied, 
rent free, at a cost to somebody, for mere house rent, according to 
the result of the sale eventually made, of nearly :j;2,800 a year. 

It is next remarkable, that no means known to me exist, by 
which it can be absolutely ascertained what amount of property 
Mr. Boott, senior, really left, or in what it consisted, or what was 
done with a great part of it. Such inquiries would easily be 
answered, if the accounts, usual in such cases, had been properly 
kept and regularly settled in the Probate office. As it is, the 
heirs are left to conjecture. Mr. John A. Lowell may possess 
some partial means of knowledge from the books of Kirk Boott 
& Sons, and those of Boott & Lowell, who succeeded them. 
But their contents have never been communicated to the heirs, 
and the records of the Probate office leave them quite in 
the dark. 

The testator died in January, 1817. An inventory was re- 
turned by the executor, Jan. 12, 1818, represented to be " a true 
and perfect inventory of all the estate of said deceased, that has 
hitherto come to his hands, possession, or knowledge," [See 



64 

Apv No. 5.] But it amounted to no more than $36,984.75 

Of this the mansion house constituted $24,000 

The store in State street, devised to Mr. 

Wright Boott, . . 9,600 

A lot of land at West Boston, devised to 

the widow, . . 500 

A pew in King's Chapel, bequeathed to her, 200 

$34,300 

And the residue was made up of household furniture and other 
chattels bequeathed to the widow. It contains nothing, except 
the Mansion-House, in which the general heirs had any interest. 
The will tells us, that the testator was the head of a mercantile 
firm. So much of his estate as lay there, I presume, should be 
regarded as in the hands of Mr. Wright Boott as surviving part- 
ner, until its affairs were settled, and not in his possession as 
executor, so as to be the subject of appraisal. But the inventory 
does not even contain an intimation that any property was to be 
looked for in that quarter. From the will it would naturally be 
inferred, that, besides the capital employed in the trade of the 
house, there were " mortgages, bonds, notes, shares in incorporated 
companies, and stock in the public funds," the separate property of 
the testator. Yet, if there were any such, the inventory is wholly 
silent respecting them. 

Soon after this, the executor presented an account, passed by 
the Judge of Probate May 11,1818. [See App. No. 6.] Its foot is 
$116,783.90. Of this, however, $10,000 is merely nominal, being 
for 50 per cent, not yet paid in on 200 Suffolk Bank shares, which 
sum stands on both sides of the account so as to produce no error, 
but is not property. The account really exhibits $106,783.90, and 
no more, invested in United States stocks, shares in the Suffolk 
Insurance Company, and shares in the Suffolk Bank, of which 
latter 50 per cent, had been paid in. The executor is charged with 
these stocks, and credited for that amount of cash paid by him in 
their purchase, without any indication where the money came 
from. The amount, however, is so much of addition to the inven- 
tory. It was nearly, though not quite, enough for the particular trust 
funds first to be established. But the account does not indicate, 
positively, that either,of them was thereby formed, or begun to be 
formed ; still less, that there was, or was like to be, any surplus 
for the heirs. The stocks mentioned may, or may not, at that time 
have stood in Mr. Wright Boott's name, as executor. But, if 
they did, they had all been parted with before 1830, and nothing, 
as we have seen, then stood in his name either as executor^ or 
as trustee. 

This account was in 1818. From that time till Nov., 1844, 
a period of twenty-six and a half years, no account of any sort 
or kind was ever settled by Mr. Wright Boott in the Probate 



55 

Court, or stated to the heirs. Nor was any account in fact kept, 
during that long period, unless by the mercantile firms in the 
early part of it. That which was exhibited, in 1844, is the account 
which Mr. Lowell himself made up, as he testified to the coro- 
ner's jury, and by which " he discovered " a balance of $25,000, 
due from the estate to the executor. This will presently be ex- 
amined ; but some other circumstances must first be stated. 
The reader has already seen all that the Probate office shows 
concerning the estate of Mr. Boott, senior, up to the time of the 
supposed misconduct of myself and other heirs, as charged by 
Mr. Lowell. The account made up by him was after we had 
taken the stand which called for it. The reader has also seen, 
that the former account exhibited not even enough to satisfy the 
particular trusts for the annuitants, and nothing for the heirs but 
a reversion in the mansion house, and in a sum short of $107,000. 
What, then, were the shares to which they were originally enti- 
tled in possession ? 

The only evidence I have on this point is, that the will mani- 
festly contemplates a surplus, and directs an immediate payment 
of $10,000 to each of two sons, "m part oi. what is bequeathed 
to them ; " and that Mr. Wright Boott himself informed me, at 
the time of my marriage, that my wife's share was $20,000. He 
gave similar information at one time, (about 1827-8,) to Mr. Wil- 
liam Boott, concerning his own share, and I believe so represent- 
ed to all the heirs. It is manifest from Mr. Kirk Boott's let- 
ters, already referred to, that he understood it to be so. The ac- 
count made up by Mr. Lowell, in 1844, claims an allowance 
for $10,000 paid to each of the heirs, making in all, $90,000. 
Such a sum was in fact paid to me at the time and in the man- 
ner above stated. I presume a similar sum was paid to several, 
but by no means to all, of the heirs. But in addition to that, 
my house was expensively furnished, at a cost undoubtedly 
of several thousand dollars, and no doubt from funds which be- 
longed to the estate. For that reason, after I had joined with 
the other heirs, in 1833, as before mentioned, in a release of Mr. 
Wright Boott from all farther claims, I was extremely desirous 
of some settlement with him concerning my wife's share, for the 
mere purpose of ascertaining its amount, being apprehensive 
that, under those circumstances, I might have received more than 
my just proportion, compared with some others of the heirs, and in 
that case I was desirous to refund. But I never could get any 
account, nor obtain any further statement. Nor could any one 
of the heirs ; and so far as I am informed, there was, in truth, no 
equality in the distribution among them. Mr. Wm. Boott, in- 
deed, never received any specific sum, though it is true, that a 
considerable expense must have been incurred on his account, 
before he was of age, while travelling in Europe, of which no 



56 

account was ever kept, or rendered, and for which there was no 
voucher. Mr. Wright Boott, in whom the utmost confidence 
was reposed, by all parlies, before his embarrassments becami 
known, really dispensed what he pleased, and when he pleased ; 
and instead of being "crowded" by the heirs, was scarcely ever 
spoken to by any of them on the subject, — never, certainly, by 
me. 

If his uniform representations were correct, and the share each 
heir was entitled to in immediate possession was $20,000, there 
should have come to his hands at least $180,000 of personal 
property, besides the trust funds of $111,000; which, with the 
inventory of $36,000, would have made the whole estate over 
$320,000. I am confirmed in the belief that it may have been 
as large as that, from the fact once stated to me by the late 
Mr. William Pratt, formerly in partnership with Mr. Booit, 
senior, that, when they dissolved their connection, Mr. Boott 
was the richer man of the two, and that he increased his 
property in trade afterwards. Yet all the account we can 
find of this large estate, is the inventory of $36,000 ; the ac- 
count of 1818, exhibiting an addition of $106,000 ; and an 
item of near $70,000, stated by Mr. Lowell, in the account 
made up by him in 1844, as paid over to the executor by 
Boott & Lowell, in liquidation of the outstanding property of 
Kirk Boott & Sons ; making in all, about $212,000. This would 
seem to leave considerably more than $100,000 unaccounted for 
in any way. What Mr. Wright Boott's own property was, or 
whether he had any, besides his share of his father's estate, when 
he closed the business of Kirk Boott 6c Sons, I do not know, 
but infer that he had little or none, after paying his debts to 
the estate, from the fact of great losses sustained by the firm 
in the business carried on by the sons afler the death of the 
father. I state this on the authority of Mr. Kirk Boott, of Low- 
ell, referring to his letter to me of February 8, 1826. [App. 
No. 7.) Whether capital was afterwards furnished by the 
estate to the new concern of Boott & Lowell, and with what 
success that was conducted, are equally unknown to me. But 
it is probable, that nearly the whole property of his father's 
estate was embarked, by Mr. Wright Boott, in the business of the 
house established by the sons, which was a ruinous one ; and it 
has been seen, that it was afterwards embarked by him in other 
private speculations of great magnitude — that of the Iron 
Works, which proved most disastrous — and that at Chelmsford, 
now Lowell, which turned out extremely fortunate, and, by its for- 
tunate issue, became the sole means of preventing total ruin 
to himself and all who were dependent upon him; for we have 
seen, that in 1830 j*nd 1831, he held no property whatever as ex- 
ecutor, or trustee, and that all the property standing in his own 



57 

name was in great danger of being swept away in the discharge 
of his own debts and liabilities ; that its whole amount, at that 
time, even if it had been clear of those debts and liabilities, and 
had all been safe property, was insufficient, by a large sum, to 
represent the probable amount of personal property left by his 
father ; and that the large item of $70,000 turned out to be value- 
less, while the residue was chiefly tied up in hypothecations on his 
personal account. It is certain, that, at that time, he had no prop- 
erty which could justly be called his own, but was in truth deeply 
insolvent, — viewing his father's estate as a creditor ; and it is 
equally certain, that he never afterwards acquired any property. 

He was, however, released, in 1833, from all existing claims, by 
myself and by most of the other heirs. Two of his sisters, be- 
sides, conveyed to him, in discharge of their husband's debts for 
his advances in the disastrous concern at the Mill Dam, all their 
reversionary, as well as present, rights in their father's estate. 
With friendly aid, he was enabled to raise means of relief from 
his endorsements on paper of Lyman & Ralston, without sacri- 
ficing manufacturing stock purchased with funds of the estate, 
and finally, by the aid of the large dividends which accrued upon 
that stock, he was enabled to discharge all his personal debts, ex- 
cept the debt to Mr. Lowell, and to furnish to his mother such sums 
as appear to have been satisfactory to her, as well as to defray the 
expense of a family establishment, kept up a long time precisely 
as if his mother had not left it, although she was at the same time 
receiving and expending, as she supposed, her full income in 
England, as would seem from her letter to Mrs. Lyman, referred 
to in the annexed letter from Mrs. Brooks. (App. No. 31.) All 
this was, in reality, at the expense of his father's estate ; for the in- 
vestments were made with the funds of the estate ; he had nothing 
else to represent those funds, and the dividends which went to pay 
his own debts and unreasonable expenses, belonged, of course, as 
the stocks did, to that estate. Whether the dividends, which were 
thus applied to his own use, were payable, in law, to his mother, or 
whether she was strictly entitled, under the will, only to the " in- 
terest money," as it is expressed, on $100,000, so that the surplus, 
belonged to the heirs, is not very material to inquire ; since all 
the heirs, who knew any thing of the circumstances, were will- 
ing enough to permit a large sacrifice of their own interests for 
the sake of enabling him to work out of his embarrassments, 
provided the fund on which their mother was dependent could 
thereby be eventually made good, so as to secure to her such 
aqiount of income as she was, at all events, entitled to. And 
Mrs. Boott herself, if the case had been stated to her, would, no 
doubt, have been willing, as she always has been, to give 
up almost every thing for his sake. Yet, with all this indul- 
gence from every quarter, and an average income of from 



58 

twelve to thirteen thousand dollars a year, accruing on the prop- 
erty in his hands from 1831 to 1844, of which $5,000 only was 
annually paid to Mrs. Boott, he had not so managed his affairs, 
nor so controlled his expenses, during these thirteen years of 
large receipts, as not to be still indebted to Mr. Lowell in the 
sum of $25,000 ; and for that debt, seventy-one out of the one 
hundred and ten shares of the manufacturing stock, which repre- 
sented the trust funds of the will, were still pledged to that gentle- 
man. Nor must it be understood, that, during this long period, 
from 1831 to 1844, Mr. Wright Boott ever consulted any of the 
heirs on these matters, or gave them any explanation of his pro- 
ceedings, or intentions, or of the state of his and their affairs. 
On the contrary, he kept them entirely aloof, and was not to be 
spoken to on such subjects — treating them as matters which 
concerned himself alone, and which no other heir had a right 
even to inquire about. There was no consultation, or commu- 
nication, to my knowledge, after that which led to his extrication 
from the liabilities of Lyman & Ralston, until the case arose in 
1844, which made it necessary for the heirs to interfere. Most 
of them, in the mean time, were profoundly ignorant of the real 
state of the trust property. My own knowledge of it was derived 
only from what had formerly been disclosed to me, and my 
observation of the excessive expenditure which was constantly 
going on, and information from Mr. Lowell of the continued 
indebtedness to him. 

From the facts now stated, which are undeniable, probably 
every unprejudiced person will have formed the opinion, that Mr. 
Wright Boott, whether sane, or insane, was a very unsuitable 
person for the management of a trust. Indeed, I have heard Mr. 
Lowell himself express that opinion. And yet I desire to repeat, 
that this incompetency did not arise from want of integrity, or of 
high-toned feeling, nor from want of intelligent perceptions ; but 
from want of judgment, and want of accurate business habits, 
and total negligence of accounts, coupled with certain peculiar 
ideas, which always confounded generosity and justice, and cer- 
tain extraordinary notions concerning his own rights and powers 
over the property of his father's estate. Far from being entirely 
selfish in his principles of action, it was, probably, a desire to 
maintain the old firm, for the benefit of the family, as he conceived, 
which induced him to embark the estate in trade, and a desire, in 
part, to aid his brothers in-law, Messrs. Lyman & Ralston, which 
led him, originally, to engage with them in a business he knew 
nothing of. It was the same sort of regard for the family interest, 
as he viewed it, which, perhaps, induced him to engage so largely 
in the more fortunate Lowell speculation, his brother, — the late 
Mr. Kirk Boott, — being placed at the head of the agency. Simi- 
lar feelings, no doubt, had made him a lender to Messrs. Wells & 



59 

Lilly, upon security which no trustee of ordinary prudence would 
think of lending on. So it was, probably, rather a desire of main- 
taining the credit of the old family establishment, than a mere 
regard to his own personal comfort, which led him into so expen- 
sive a mode of life, while his mother was in England. And so 
other good and generous motives, operating in connection with 
his own peculiar views of affairs, caused him in many other ways, 
to waste the family property, dealing with it always as if it were 
his own, to do with as he pleased, and appropriating it even to 
the security, or payment, of his own personal debts, without even 
consulting the other heirs upon the subject. Indeed, he once 
told me, in one of the few conversations 1 ever had with him on 
business, after the adjustment of his most pressing difficulties in 
1831, that his father intended to give him all he left over $100,000. 
It was this remark and the manner and occasion of making it, 
which first gave me the idea that he was not entirely in his right 
mind, ahhough it did not then impress itself upon me, as it after- 
wards did, so as to amount to a conviction. 

To this subject it is now time to turn. Its nature does not 
permit the same certainty of proof as the question of his fitness 
in other respects for a trustee. Insanity is of all kinds and de- 
grees. This was not one of those flagrant cases which make 
themselves manifest, at all times, to all persons, and in relation to 
all subjects. It was partial insanity only. Nothing is, perhaps, 
more difficult, than to draw the line between mere eccentricity 
and this species of insanity. And hence, whenever the question 
arises, great diversity of opinion is apt to be found, even among 
persons of equal intelligence, with apparently equal means of 
observation. My own opinion is, as already expressed, that Mr. 
Wright Boott had always great peculiarities of character. So 
long as the world prospered with him, to all outward appearance, 
they amounted, perhaps, to nothing more, and he was remarkable 
only for noble sentiments, and generous impulses, connected 
with a manner externally cold, reserved, and shy. But from the 
time of his embarrassments, after his connection with Lyman & 
Ralston, and especially after the necessary disclosure of his posi- 
tion to others, in 1830 and 1831, I consider him to have been 
essentially an altered man. I think he never recovered from that 
blow. He considered himself as having incurred a disgrace. 
It wrought in secret on a proud spirit, until it seriously affected 
his temper, and warped his natural judgment. He withdrew 
himself, more and more, from intercourse with mankind. His 
family associations became less agreeable. Those of the family 
to whom he had been obliged to disclose his position, and who 
had aided in his extrication, became, for that very reason, dis- 
agreeable to him. Accident occasioned some separations, his own 
conduct occasioned others, and he finally led a life of almost total 



60 

seclusion, brooding over his misfortunes, until he turned them into 
wrongs, and began to see many things through the false medium 
of his own imagination, until they become fixed ideas, founded 
on mere delusion, over which reason had no control. And this 
I take to be the exact criterion of what is called partial insanity. 
Insane delusion is said to consist in the belief of facts, which no 
rational person would believe upon the evidence before him ; and 
this may relate to a single one, or any greater number of subjects. 
It is apt to lead to unreasonable aversions, and groundless suspi- 
cions. Nothing is more common, as I am informed by medical 
persons, with the insane, than the apprehension of plots against 
their lives, peace, or happiness, by some of their nearest relatives 
and best friends, towards whom they conceive unaccountable and 
unfounded antipathies. When nothing occurs to excite the mor- 
bid sentiment, the person so afflicted reasons, thinks, expresses 
himself, and acts, as he was always accustomed to do ; and no 
person, seeing him under such circumstances, would suspect that 
he was not perfectly sane ; but when the subject upon which he 
labors under the insane delusion suggests itself, he immediately 
reasons in relation to that, upon false premises, and judges, speaks, 
and acts accordingly; so that the insanity becomes manifest to 
those who then observe him, knowing the facts, and acquainted 
with the character of his mind in its ordinary state. 

It would be impossible for me to recall all the circumstances 
which contributed to my first suspicions, and finally my settled 
conviction, that Mr. Wright Boott was in this unfortunate state 
of mind. Some, which 1 do recall, are of a kind which I cannot 
with propriety disclose, from regard to the feelings of others, 
although they would perhaps be considered evidence of the 
strongest kind. Others I may properly state, believing that I 
shall do justice to the deceased, as well as to the living, if I shall 
satisfy any reader, that this gentleman was partially insane ; since 
his conduct, otherwise, seems to me totally indefensible ; and I 
have never been able to understand, why, since his melancholy 
end, all his relatives and warmest friends have not thought it 
desirable, as some of us have, that this point should be estab- 
lished, as far as truth would permit. It certainly is the more 
usual feeling when suicide has happened. 

His very singular conduct, as an executor, trustee, and guar- 
dian, have been already stated. No one who ever knew him, 
as well as I did, will attribute that conduct to the desire of 
making money at the expense of others, which is the common 
motive for misusing trust property. Neither, by itself, would 
it, without that motive, prove insanity. But, conn-ected with 
other circumstances, it becomes in itself a circumstance of some 
weight, in my mind, to show a species of derangement on certain 
subjects. 



61 

Connected with this, all who knew him intimately, knew, that 
his usually calm and cold demeanor gave place, at times, to a 
manner of great excitement, from very slight cause, and some- 
times from what most men would consider no cause at all. And 
this infirmity grew upon him as he advanced in years. The 
extreme kindness with which he was treated by all his relatives 
and connections, — by none more than myself, — at the time of 
his greatest pecuniary troubles, has been already shown ; and 
their long forbearance, afterwards, in omitting to call him to ac- 
count, in any form, for the trust property remaining in his hands, 
and known to me to be precariously situated, while he volunteered 
no explanations, sufficiently appears. Yet he was constantly im- 
agining some plot, or contrivance, on their part, or at least on the 
part of some of them, and not always the same individuals, to do 
him some indefinite injury. An illustration of this occurs as far 
back as 1830, which has been already stated, although I confess 
that the idea of partial insanity did not occur to me till many years 
after that. I refer to his conviction, expressed to Mr. Kirk Boott, 
as stated to me by that gentleman, that Mr. Lyman, Mr. Ralston, 
and myself were in 9. plot to ruin him. Nothing could be more 
utterly irrational. Messrs. Lyman and Ralston were his partners, 
and their interests were wholly bound up in his. It was to him 
they looked for aid to carry them through their difficulties. It is 
true, that they may have been at that time pressing him for it, to 
his annoyance. But for myself, I had no connection with their 
business whatever, and knew nothing of it, nor had ever med- 
dled with it, or even inquired about it, until Mr. Wright Boott 
himself, after this conversation with his brother Kirk, and at his 
suggestion, sought the interview above-mentioned as occurring in 
August, 1830, and voluntarily disclosed the state of his affairs, 
to my utter astonishment. This he did under the impulse of his 
brother's suggestion. Yet, though I had treated him with the 
utmost kindness and shown every disposition to aid him, and 
was urged by himself to call on him the next morning for farther 
consultation, he had, probably, in the interval, relapsed into the 
notion of my being in a plot against him, as would seem from 
the extraordinary manner in which he received, or rather repulsed 
me, when I called, agreeably to his request, which has been al- 
ready related. Another illustration of his extraordinary tendency 
to adopt and adhere to a delusion, begins at a date a little earlier 
even than this. The particulars I do not feel myself at liberty to 
state. But, in general, I may say, that he fell into a grievous 
error, which he was entirely satisfied of and heartily sorry for, as 
he expressed to me, with every appearance of the deepest contri- 
tion. And yet, fifteen years afterwards, when in a state of great 
morbid excitement, he was found laboring under the old delu- 
sion. 



62 

These dulsions grew upon him and multiplied as he lived 
more by himself. Mr. Wm. Boott was, for a long time, the only- 
member of the family who lived in the house with him, except 
some of his young nephews, who stayed there occasionally. But 
he at last treated his brother in such a mannar, without the slight- 
est cause, as to drive him from the house. That occurrence I shall 
presently state more fully. His sister, Mrs. Lyman, it has been 
already stated, lived in the house with him, (there being no other 
inmate except the domestics,) during the last year of his life. But 
upon what terms? She was to keep her own apartments, — to 
take her meals by herself, — never to speak to him — never to en- 
ter the same room with him, — and never to allow her brother, Mr. 
Wm. Boott, or her sister, Mrs. Brooks, to visit her, even in her 
own room. These hard terms, which necessity compelled her to 
submit to, were literally carried out. Being forbidden to see, or 
to speak to him, she at one time sent him an affectionate note. 
It was returned unanswered. During this time, and, indeed, for 
a long time before, he conceived, and stated to several persons, 
that his brother William, myself and wife, and Mrs. Lyman, 
were leagued in a plot against him, and that Mrs. Lyman was 
placed in the house by me as a spy over him, — as if there were 
anything to spy about ! He refused, or caused the refusal, of all 
intercourse, of the most ordinary kind, with any of us. And all 
this was, so far as I know and believe, without any cause in the 
world, that any rational man could act upon. If it be supposed, 
that it arose simply from ofience at our refusal to sign a deed of 
the house, the answer is, that the non-intercourse was established 
long before any question on that subject, or any other subject 
connected with his accounts, had arisen. 

After these general statements, I will now introduce some 
particular evidence, and begin with a report of that which ap- 
peared at the hearing in the Probate Court, before alluded to, 
because that comes in the shape of authentic testimony. I reduce 
it from the original minutes taken at the time by William H. 
Gardiner, Esq., one of my counsel. 

The attesting witnesses to the will in question were, of course, 
called, as the law requires, by Mr. Lowell, who, as the executor, 
offered it for proof. They were C. P. Curtis, B. R. Curtis, and 
G. G. Hubbard, Esqs. These witnesses proved the due execu- 
tion of the will, in their presence, and testified to their belief that 
the testator was sane at the time. But Mr. Hubbard said, that he 
had no previous acquaintance with him, and merely saw him sign 
the paper, appearing and acting like a sane man. Mr. B. R. Curtis 
had a very slight acquaintance with him, but saw no more of 
him, on that occasion, lhan Mr. Hubbard. Both these gentlemen 
were only called in from adjoining rooms to witness the act. 
Mr. C. P. Curtis testified nearly as follows. 



63 

" I had been acquainted with Mr. Wright Boott, more or less, 
for forty years, but not very intimately ; had been counsel for him, 
as the agent of his mother, once, in a land cause, a number of 
years ago ; and had also been counsel for Mr. Hooper, relative to 
his duel with a Mr. Jones, on which subject I saw Mr. Wright 
Boott several times, at his house ; and also saw him upon another 
occasion, when, at his request, I drew a will for Mr. James Boott. 
This also was some time ago. At the time when his own will 
was executed, Mr. Wright Boott, whom I had not seen before 
for a considerable time, walked into my office, took out a paper, 
which he said was his will, and requested me to read it, and see if 
it was in legal form, or something to that effect. I read the paper, 
which appeared to be in Mr. Boott's own handwriting, and told 
him I believed it was clear and effectual, and in right form. I had 
heard Mr. Brooks once say, that he thought Mr. Wright Boott 
was crazy, and I therefore looked at him more attentively, and 
conferred with him a little more than I otherwise should, but 
saw nothing indicating the least discomposure ; he was perfectly 
calm, and there was nothing distinguishable from his ordinary 
manner, which had been uniformly gentle when I had had inter- 
course with him. There was not much conversation ; Mr. Boott 
asked no question, except whether the paper was in legal form. 
He was asked, by me, if he had taken legal counsel, or if he had 
got a lawyer to draw it ; and he said he had not. The reason of 
the question was, because there was technical language in the 
will, such as would be used by a lawyer and not by a merchant. 
The form of attestation was already written, and correctly 
written ; he did not explain how this happened. The interview 
lasted ten minutes, possibly fifteen. No question was asked as 
to why he disposed of the property as he did. Nothing was said 
about any member of the family, — no inquiry put respecting 
them, nor allusion made to them. He had called attention only 
to the language and form of the instrument, and when told that 
it was right, he called in Mr. B. R. Curtis and Mr. Hubbard, and 
the will was signed and witnessed." 

On this testimony it may be remarked, that there is nothing in 
it inconsistent with the idea of partial insanity, since it appears 
that nothing occurred to call it out. — The conversation with me 
alluded to by Mr. Curtis, was an accidental one, in the course of 
which he asked, as an old acquaintance and friend of all parties, 
what the cause was of the dissensions he had heard of in the 
Boott family. My answer was to the effect, that it was because 
they had a crazy man at the head of it. 

Two witnessess, only, were then examined on my part, neither 
of them in any way connected with the family. I give their own 
words, very nearly, according to the minutes taken. Mr. Nath. 
Greene, the postmaster of this city, testified as follows. 



64 

" Mr. Wright Boott, a few weeks before his death, called upon 
me, in company with Mr. Lowell, apparently in a state of con- 
siderable excitement, to complain of a conspiracy concerning his 
letters. He said there must be a conspiracy in our office to deprive 
him of his letters. He thought a Mr. Boott, who boarded at the 
Albion " [i. e. Mr. Wm. Boott]., " had something to do with it, — 
said it was his brother, — mentioned, as a reason, that he could 
not get his letters except through this Mr. Boott; that they came 
through him, and not through the post-office, and that they lay on 
his brother's table at the Albion. He complained, particularly, that 
he did not get letters from his mother in England, and insisted, that 
there must be a conspiracy in our office., or it could not be effected. 
Mr. Wright Boott had a letter box of his own, and his brother had a 
different one. I tried to reason him out of his supposition of a con- 
spiracy, but could produce no impression, and the more I reasoned 
the more excited he grew ; so that I came to the conclusion he was 
not in his right mind. His manner was uncommonly excited, — 
too much so for a reasonable man, or a man in his right reason. 
I called up the clerks. There ivas no fact to justify his idea. 
They said he had, before, made similar complaints to them, and 
that they were always particularly careful about his letters in 
consequence. A few days after, when the next steamer arrived, 
they called my attention to a letter for him from London, as 
probably the letter which had been so much complained about. 
He was there about ten minutes. My attention was chiefly 
taken up by his excited manner. I treated him as politely as I 
knew how, — called up the clerks, suggested precautions, and 
gave injunctions, though I considered the whole thing a mistake 
of his own, and supposed that the business of the office was 
rightly done. He spoke of all his letters in general, and then of 
particular letters, and most particularly of one from his mother, 
that he had not received ; said his letters came from the Albion, 
and were known to lie on his brother's table, and had been seen 
there by others. Two other gentlemen (Mr. David Henshaw 
was one,) were sitting in the office talking with me when he 
came in, and heard what passed." 

Mr. Wm. Boott's statement will show, that there was no sort 
of foundation for his brother's idea, that letters for him came from 
the Albion, or that there had been any interference concerning 
them. 

Robert C. Hooper testified as follows. 

" I had been acquainted with Mr. Wright Boott about eleven 
or twelve years, before his death. — I formerly saw him very often. 
We were quite intimate. I was in the habit of dining with him, 
from two to three times a week, for eight or ten years previous to 
his death, — or rather previous to the time when our intercourse 
broke off' — and used to see him occasionally in the week besides. 



65 

We were in the habit of exchanging presents, of writing notes to 
each other occasionally, and of other intercourse usual between 
intimate friends. That intimacy ceased in December, 1842. About 
the year 1840, his conduct became very extraordinary, — so much 
so that late in that year, or early in 1841, 1 was alarmed about him, 
and one day when I went home I mentioned to my brother " — 
[The witness was here stopped, on the objection of Mr. Lowell's 
counsel, that the conversation of the witness with his brother was 
not legal evidence.] " I was satisfied in my own mind that he 
would commit, either murder, or suicide. I so stated at the time, 
to a third person. We were very intimate, and I was much 
attached to him; but as he w^as a person of peculiar habits, I 
was sometimes rather unwilling to go to the house so often as I 
did ; but was constantly urged to do so. His brother, Mr. Wm. 
Boott, with whom I was intimate also, sometimes made short 
visits to Europe. Mr. James Boott also went to Europe. They 
wished me to continue my habit of frequently visiting Mr. Wright 
Boott, as they appeared to think it a particular pleasure to him. 
One day, when I went to dine with him, I thought I noticed 
something pecuhar in his manner towards me, — he appeared 
more cold and distant than usual, — but I did not think a great 
deal of it. On a subsequent day, I thought I noticed it again. 
I was unwilling to believe it, — but observed him, and was sat- 
isfied that there was an intentional coolness. Mr. Wm. Boott 
was not present ; he lived then, chiefly, at Lowell, and did not 
dine at the house except on Sundays. I mentioned the circum- 
stance to him, when I next saw him, and told him I should not 
visit his brother again till asked. Mr. Wm. Boott insisted that I 
must be mistaken. He was very desirous, being at Lowell 
himself, that I should dine with his brother and visit him as 
much as I could. He begged me, at any rate, to come to dinner 
the next Sunday, when he should be there, and could see, for 
himself, whether there was any ground for my fears of a change 
of feeling towards me. I went accordingly, and Mr. Wm. Boott 
was present when I entered the room, and saw the manner in 
which I was received. After dinner he told me, that he was 
satisfied I was right. I did not visit Mr. Wright Boot again 
during the week. But in the course of the week Mr. Wm. Boott 
begged me to come again on the following Sunday to dinner, 
and see if Mr. Wright Boot's manner would be the same. I at 
first declined, but finally consented, and went very reluctant- 
ly. Mr. Wright Boott's manner was then as kind and cordial 
to me as usual. Mr. Wm. Boott, after dinner, told me the reason 
of this change." [The witness was here stopped from stating 
the reason assigned by Mr. Wm. Boott.] 

" After this I renewed my usual intercourse with Mr. Wright 
Boot, and he was, uniformly, as kind and cordial towards me as 
9 



66 

he ever had been. I was induced, however, to note his manner 
very particularly. It had become strange. His behavior at the 
dinner-table was often very peculiar, — kind to me, but rude to 
his brother, Mr. Wm. Boott, so much so that I was frequently 
alarmed, lest some violence should be committed by him. On 
one occasion, I went in to dine there on a Sunday, about a quar- 
ter past one. They usually sat down to dinner, on Sundays, 
about fifteen or twenty minutes after one. On this day I found 
them at dinner, and as I was always particularly careful to do 
what I could to please Mr. Wright Boott, I expressed my regret 
as I took my seat, at being late, and said I meant to be punc- 
tual. Mr. Wm. Boot, who was at one end of the table, said, 
' Why, we do not usually dine till a quarter past one.' Mr. 
Wright Boott immediately said, ' You lie,' — stopped a moment, 
and then repeated, — ' It is a lie.' His manner was greatly ex- 
cited ; he spoke with deep passion, and trembled all over ; it was 
in a low tone of voice, but not aside. I sat between them at the 
table. Mr. Wm. Boott did nothing and said nothing. I ap- 
peared not to notice it, and tried to turn the conversation, and the 
dinner passed off otherwise as usual. I carried on the conversation 
with one, or the other, and made eiforls to do so, fearing some 
violence from Mr. Wright Boott. After dinner, in conversation 
with Mr. Wm. Boott, I advised him — " [Here the witness 
was stopped again by Mr. Lowell's counsel.] 

" I noticed this sort of excitement at various times ; sometimes 
more, sometimes less, and at times it was very alarming to me. 
There was not any cause for it, that I could see, or that I know 
of. I have seen him, often, sit and look at his brother very pecu- 
liarly, so that I should not have been surprised to see him throw 
a knife at him. In fact, I often expected to see some violence — 
his tone and look were so peculiar. There was nothing in Mr. 
Wm. Boott's manner towards him to cause it," 

" In December, 1842, Mr. Wm. Boott was about going to 
England, and begged me, during his absence, to continue my 
visits to his brother Wright. I intended to do so. I thought 
Mr. Wright Boott's manner towards me, during the two or three 
last weeks, had not been quite so cordial as usual ; but I was 
much attached to him, and allowed forhis peculiarities. I went to 
dinner, as usual, the Sunday after Mr. Wm. Boott's departure, — 
but I then saw, decidedly, that same sort of distance and coldness 
which I had observed formerly. For instance, when I went in, he 
was standing at the window looking out, his back towards me. 
He did not turn to greet me. I said 'good morning.' Instead 
of turning, he answered gruffly, 'good morning,' and continued 
looking out of the window. His usual manner was one of ex- 
treme kindness to me, and generally he was a man of great 
urbanity in his own house ; though I saw very few people there, 



67 

for his habits were those of great retirement. I did not go there 
again that week, or the next Sunday. But soon after, I met him 
in Court street, and went up and spoke to him ; and he turned 
away from me without speaking. I never had any intercourse 
with him after that. This was very soon after Mr. Wm. Boott 
sailed for England, in December, 1842. On the 7th of Septem- 
ber, 1843, having had no communication with Mr. Wright Boott 
in the interval, I took the following letter from the post-office. 
It is in Mr. Wright Boott's handwriting, though not so clear as 
usual, for he usually wrote a very good hand." 

[The witness here read the letter — which, as it is his property, 
I do not feel at liberty to publish. It is very coarse and abusive, 
and at the same time quite incoherent, and of itself very unintel- 
ligible. To explain the residue of the witness' testimony, how- 
ever, some extracts must, necessarily, be made, for which I have 
obtained Mr. Hooper's permission. It begins, — 

" Boston, Sept. 6, 1843. 

" Sir, — You have been received as the friend of W. Boott, in 
this family, with cordiality and confidence, which you have 
abused, and with civility even when you had the audacity, after 
having united with W. Boott in a dastardly insult on the Sun- 
day previous, with a rare and unusual impudence, in the pres- 
ence of an unconcerned auditor, on the 18th December, 1842, to 
present yourself here for the last time. This and other circum- 
stances, proves you to have acted in cooperation with a man 
whom you know to be a liar and coward, and you must not 
therefore be surprised, if I consider those terms applicable to you. 
By the machinations of W. Boott and yourself, and your allies, 
Mr. and Mrs. Ed. Brooks, you have destroyed the union and 
harmony of this family." 

In another part of the letter, he says, " My opinion of these 
parties is such, that I believe them capable of suborning wit- 
nesses to defame me." He also states, that, on the occasion of 
a recent attempt to procure an investigation of his conduct, Mr. 
Hooper's name was mentioned.] 

In answer to the question, whether he knew any fact on which 
that letter was founded, the witness proceeded to say : 

" There is not a single thing, in this letter, for which there is the 
slightest justification, or foundation. I suppose the 18th of Decem- 
ber was the last day I dined there in company with Mr. Wm. 
Boot, before he sailed for England. There was not the slightest 
circumstance of insult on that day, or any day, towards Mr. 
Wright Boott. There was no dispute, altercation, or even differ- 
ence between us. My impression is, that Mr. Wm. Wells, Jr., 
dined with us. He sometimes did. The Sunday following, which 



was the last day I ever dined there, Mr. Wm. Wells, Jr., and 
another member of the family were present. I tasked my mem- 
ory, at the time of the reception of this letter, with great care, to 
discover what it could be founded upon — but could recall 
nothing. I never knew the slightest insult of any kind offered 
to Mr. Wright Boott at that table. I do not know that I had 
ever had a single conversation, either with Mr. Brooks, or with 
Mrs. Brooks, on family matters. I had very little acquaintance 
with Mrs. Brooks at that time. The charge of leagueing, &c. 
with them was so absurd, that I scarce ever thought of it again. I 
never, in my life, heard them speak an unkind word of him. As 
to the occasion spoken of by the letter, when my name was 
introduced in connection with an investigation of Mr. Wright 
Boott's conduct, I took some pains to ascertain what that might 
refer to, but never could find the least clue to account for it to a 
rational mind." 

" The next day after the receipt of this letter, as I was cross- 
ing State Street, I saw Wright Boott, standing at a little dis- 
tance, glaring at me like a tiger. It is the mildest expres- 
sion I can use to convey the idea. I went on into the Mer- 
chants' Insurance office, fearing a scene. I saw him follow me. 
I went into the back room, as on business, and stood at the desk, 
whence I could see through into the front room, and I saw him 
sit down, before the door, as if waiting for me to come out. i 
then went out at a side door, and so avoided him. I handed this 
letter to Mr. Wm. Boott the same night, I believe, or at any rate, 
when he next came down from Lowell. I wanted, at first, to an- 
swer it mildly and pleasantly, as I felt no resentment at what I 
considered the work of insanity. I did not, however. Mr. Wil- 
liam Boott, and Mr. Mr. P. T. Jackson, and some one else to whom 
it was shown, advised me not to answer it at all, as the writer 
was evidently crazy. Mr. P. T. Jackson's words were, ' Don't 
answer it — he will be in the hospital in six months.' I consult- 
ed several members of the family. The original letter was sent 
by one of them to Dr. Francis Boott, of London, for his inspec- 
tion. I received a letter from Dr. Boott, in consequence, thank- 
ing me for not having noticed it." [The witness here produced 
the letter referred to, but it was objected to by Mr. Lowell's coun- 
sel, and not read.] In answer to a question from Mr. L.'s coun- 
sel, the Avitness said, " I did write Mr. Wright Boott one letter 
afterwards — I think in June, 1844 — in reference to another 
subject — a particular charge against myself, which I heard of 
as coming from him. He made no answer to it. The letter is 
not in my possession, but I have a copy at home." 

The examination upon this point was broken off, in order that 
the witness might find the copy of the letter in question, but was 



69 

took. Considering that sufficient evidence of insanity was in- 
troduced for the purpose I had in view, I made my motion to 
the court to compel the production of the letter in Mr. Low- 
ell's possession, which had accompanied the will, and which it 
was my sole object in the suit to obtain a sight of. My affida- 
vit, which is annexed, together with the counter affidavit of Mr. 
Lowell, (see App. Nos. 50 and 51,) states the grounds of my belief, 
that it would be found to contain matters which would be material 
in aid of the proof of the testator's insanity. But the court decid- 
ed, that its production could not be compelled ; and I thereupon 
withdrew my appearance from the cause. An appearance was en- 
tered for Mrs. Lyman. But there was no longer any object in pur- 
suing the question concerning insanity, in that court, as it was 
plain, that, in any event, there would be an appeal, and that the real 
trial of the question must take place before a jury in the Supreme 
Court. The judge thereupon remarked, that his decree upon the 
real question must be rather pro forma, as was frequent in these 
cases of alleged insanity. That some hullucination had been 
shown, but that, upon the evidence of the attesting witnesses, 
he should set up the will, and leave it to be contested in the 
higher court. Mr. Lowell then proposed to resign the execu- 
torship, as well as the office of special administrator, to which 
he had been appointed. This was acceded to, and it was agreed, 
ihat Mr. F. C. Loring might be appointed special administrator, 
pending the appeal, which Mrs. Lyman's counsel gave notice 
would be entered. This appeal was afterwards duly entered, 
but, as before stated, Mrs. Lyman finally withdrew her suit, and 
the question of Mr. Wright Boott's insanity never became the 
subject of further judicial examination. 

If the trial had proceeded, several important matters would 
have been proved which I do not now feel myself authorized to 
state. Others I may without impropriety. 

The letter from Dr. Boott, referred to by Mr. Hooper in his testi- 
mony, among other things says : " You will not expect me to do 
more than refer to the letter. Its own folly and extravagance pre- 
vent the necessity of particularly alluding to it. I would only re- 
mark that not only its peculiar expressions, but the handwriting' 
denotes an excited unsoundness of mind." " I never knew a 
clearer case of monomania.^'' "J. W. B.'s conduct for years has 
puzzled me, and the solution, God knows, is a very sad one." 

I may also state what I know from Mr. Wm. Boott, (having 
his permission to do so,) in addition to what I know of my own 
knowledge, omitting certain things which he might have been 
compelled to declare as a witness, and which he formerly stated to 
me in confidence, but which, from considerations of feeling, nei- 
ther he, nor I, wish to expose. He would have testified to the ef- 
fect, that his brother Wright had always been somewhat peculiar 



70 

in his temper, and became much more so in his latter years, and 
at last, in his opinion, decidedly, though partially, insane. Many 
years before his death, he had begun to be moody and suspicious, 
and to take offence without cause, and consequently to treat some- 
limes one member of the family and sometimes another rudely, 
and so to get on ill terms with them, without any reasonble pro- 
vocation on their part. At the time Mrs. Boott went to England, 
in 1836, he was not even on speaking terms with a large portion 
of the family. He had quarrelled with both his former partners, 
Messrs. Lyman and Ralston, and would not speak to either of 
them, nor to their wives — each of whom, especially Mrs. Lyman, 
he had treated very ill. He would scarcely speak to his brother 
Kirk, and treated him so rudely, that the latter repeatedly said, 
that, but for his mother, he would never enter the house again.=^ 
With the Wells family he was on good terms. He was on tol- 
erable terms with Mr. Brooks, [meaning myself,] though usually 
not cordial, and sometimes very rude to him. Mrs. Brooks and he 
were very good friends then, and long after ; he was on good terms 
generally, but not always, with his brother James ; he was on per- 
fectly good terms with Mr. Wm. Boott himself; no brothers were 
on better ; they were much attached to each other ; Mr. Wm. Boott 
was in the habit of assisting him about his green-house ; he was 
the youngest member of the family, was very young when his 
father died, and being accustomed to look up to his brother 
almost as a father, the relation between them was somewhat par- 
ticular and unusual ; Mr. Wm. Boott, from this circumstance, 
took, as matters of course, without offence, peculiarities to 
which he had always been accustomed, and treated Mr. Wright 
Boott with much respect as well as affection. Except a short 
visit to England, in 1837, he lived with his brother the whole 
time till he took an agency at Lowell, in 1838, which required 
him to spend most of his time there. But he was then in the 
habit of coming home two or three times a week, to pass the 
evening and night, and always spent his Sundays there. The 
other inmates of the house were Mr James Boott, and young 
Mr. Wm. Wells, a nephew. Mr. James Boott went to Eng- 
land in 1838, and has never returned — so that the household 
was reduced to Mr. Wright Boott, young Mr. Wells, and Mr. 
Wm. Boott, whenever his duties at Lowell permitted him to 
be at home. Mr. Robert C. Hooper had become intimate in the 
family several years before, was in the habit of visiting them 
frequently on week days, and always dined there on Sundays, 
and was very attentive to Mr. Wright Boott, who was particu- 
larly fond of him. Mr. Wm. Boott, considering that his brother 
required society, spent his evenings, when in town, mostly with 

* Mr. Kirk Boott made the same remark to me. 



71 

him, and they were the best friends in the world. This went 
on with no interruption of the harmony, and no very perceptible 
change in Mr. Wright Boottj until sometime in 1841. 

His peculiarities had increased upon him before this, and were 
observed by Mr. Wm. Boott with great regret ; but he made 
allowances for them, and there never was even a harsh word ex- 
changed between them. As he chose not to go anywhere, and 
very few persons came to the house, he led quite a solitary life, 
without any occupation except his books and plants. His sister, 
Mrs. Brooks, used to come frequently to see him ; and so did sev- 
eral members of the Wells family. Very few persons, if any, out 
of the family visited him, except Mr. Hooper. At last, in the 
summer of 1841, he appeared to be losing his health, and became 
very gloomy and dejected, without any known cause. He was, 
however, as kind as usual in his manner towards Mr. Wm. Boott, 
and nothing very marked occurred, until Mr. Wm. Boott, one 
day, received, at Lowell, a letter from him indicating great dis- 
tress of mind, and expressing a particular suspicion concerning 
Mr. Wm. Boott, which was totally groundless. The letter said he 
could not speak upon the subject, and preferred that mode of com- 
munication. The consequence was an active correspondence for 
about ten days — in the course of which he shifted his suspi- 
cions from Mr. Wm. Boott to Mr. Hooper, with as little reason 
in the one case as in the other. In the mean time Mr. Wm. 
Boott continued to come down from Lowell, and to stay at the 
house, as usual, and Mr. Hooper continued to visit them, as usual, 
not one word being ever spoken on this subject, as Mr. Wright 
Boott had so requested in his lettersi 

It was at this time, that Mr. William Boott first became 
strongly impressed with the apprehension that his brother had 
become, or was fast becoming, deranged ; and in one of his let- 
ters, he wrote to him to the effect, that he feared, that his solitary 
life, and want of business pursuits, and the deep interest he was 
taking in the subject to which he had referred in the corres- 
pondence, and the giving way, as he did, to groundless suspi- 
cions, were preying upon him, and undermining his reason ; and 
he urged upon him the necessity of some exertion, on his part, to 
avoid such consequences. His answer insisted, that his mind 
was as clear as ever it was, and that he had no cause of unhap- 
piness, except that which he had made the subject of this cor- 
respondence — which was itself, in truth, as mere a delusion as 
any man ever labored under. The result, however, was, that he 
was put at ease on the subject that troubled him, and admitted 
himself perfectly satisfied that his suspicions, both in respect of 
Mr. William Boott, and of his friend Mr. Hooper, were quite 
groundless. He then requested, that his letters might be returned 
to him, and they were so. After this, the appearance of gloom 



72 

and dejection wore off; he recovered his natural tone, and 
seemed as well as usual, and as kind as ever in his manners to 
Mr. Wm. Boott. This lasted, however, only two or three weeks ; 
and then, without any known cause, a fit of sullenness came 
over him ; he began to be cold and distant towards Mr. Wm. 
Boott, appeared to avoid him, spoke little to him, and finally not 
at all ; and from that went on to treating him with great incivil- 
ity and rudeness. As all this was otherwise unaccountable, Mr. 
Wm. Boott attributed it to the old delusion, or some new one of 
which he could get no explanation ; for when addressed, his 
brother would not answer him ; and setting it down to an affec- 
tion of the mind, which he hoped would pass oft", he took no no- 
tice of it. 

Mr. Hooper, in the mean time, continued to visit him, and 
was always cordially received, though he had, at one time, been 
somewhat cool in his manner towards that gentleman. His 
strange manner towards Mr. Wm. Boott, of course, became appa- 
rent to Mr. Hooper, and was attributed, by both of them, to a spe- 
cies of derangement, for which there seemed to be no help. The 
particular instances of what would have been insults, if he were in 
his right mind, were generally too minute to repeat, consisting 
often of mere look, or tone of remark to a third person. Instead of 
wearing off, however, this sort of behavior constantly increased, 
and he began to be at times positively savage in his manner, when 
he and Mr. Wm. Boott were alone. At last, the scene occurred 
which Mr. Hooper describes in his testimony, at dinner, on a Sun- 
day, when Mr. Hooper found them'seated at table and apologized 
for being late, and Mr. Wm. Boott remarked to him that they did 
not usually sit down till about a quarter past one — which was 
the fact — and Mr. Wright Boott, thereupon, eyeing him fiercely 
said, — " It is a damned lie," ^ — with great excitement of manner, 
which continued throughout the dinner, towards Mr. Wm. Boott, 
though he was perfectly courteous towards Mr. Hooper. This 
was the more striking, to those who knew Mr. Wright Boott 
well, as he was particularly choice and careful about his lan- 
guage, and never was addicted to swearing, or to the use of vul- 
gar expressions, even when angry. As soon as dinner was over, 
Mr. Hooper and Mr. Wm. Boott went out together, and the for- 
mer remarked to the latter, " I am glad to see you out of the 
house safe ; I expected every moment to see Wright throw a 
knife at you." — Not the slightest provocation had been given, 
and no notice was taken of the insult. The manner and look 
were so peculiar, independently of the insulting language, that 
Mr. Hooper said he was really alarmed, and advised Mr. Wm. 

* Mr. Hooper's testimony omits the word " damned," — but Mr. William Boott very 
distinctly recollects it. • 



73 

Boott not to remain in the house, or if he chose to, at any rate 
to lock his door at night. Mr. Hooper spoke, at the time, to 
his own brother, as he informed Mr. Wilham Boott, of the 
strange scene he had witnessed, and told him (which he 
was not allowed to state in his testimony) to mark his 
words, that the end of it would be, that Mr. Wright Boott 
would either kill his brother William, or kill himself. Mr. Wm. 
Boott, however, not apprehending any actual violence, spoke 
to no one of this and other like occurrences, but thought 
it best that he should remain in the house, when he was in town, 
and encouraged Mr. Hooper to continue to visit Mr. Wright 
Boott at other times, as well as to continue his Sunday dinners. 
Soon after this, he began to treat Mrs. Brooks ill, so that she was 
at last obliged to leave off visiting him ; and his society in that 
quarter ceased entirely. In December, 1842, Mr. Wm. Boott went 
to England, and was absent some months. Shortly before that, 
Mr. Wright Boott began to be cold in his manner towards Mr. 
Hooper, so that the latter said he was doubtful whether he ought 
to continue to visit there ; but Mr. Wm. Boott, thinking it impor- 
tant for his brother to have Mr. Hooper's society, urged him to go 
there, as usual, during his own absence. He went accordingly, 
as appears by his testimony, on the following Sunday, but was 
received with so marked a change of manner, as he states, that 
he never went afterwards. 

Mr. Wra. Boott was absent several months, and on his return, 
hoped to find Mr. Wright Boott in a different frame of mind 
towards himself But he found no change, unless for the worse. 
Nothing very material occurred, however, until one Saturday 
morning in June, 1843, when, in going down to breakfast, he 
heard Mr. Wright Boott come out of his room very hastily, and 
run down stairs, as if he meant to get before Mr. Wm. Boott 
into the breakfast room. This was very contrary to his usual 
habit, which was to come late. He did not succeed, however, 
in getting before Mr. Wm. Boott, who was already on a sep- 
arate stair-way, and went to his seat at the breakfast table, 
as if he had not observed Mr. Wright Boott's haste. Mr. 
Wright Boott, when he came in, muttered something indis- 
tinctly, and glared at him very fiercely, and was evidently very 
much agitated — so much so that he trembled all over, as he 
was apt to do in the latter years of his life upon any excitement 
— but sat down in his usual place at the breakfast table, said 
nothing, and nothing more happened. The next morning, as 
Mr. Wm. Boott came out of his room, he again heard Mr. 
Wright Boott instantly come out of his, and proceed down stairs, 
with greater haste than before, to the breakfast room. It was 
evident that he was watching an opportunity. At this time 
Mr. Wright Boott got down stairs before Mr. William Boott, 
10 



74 

and consequently arrived first in the breakfast room. There was 
something so very peculiar in this, that Mr. Wm. Boott prepared 
himself for a scene of some kind, and determined to act as if he 
had noticed nothing unusual. As he entered the room, he found 
Mr. Wright Boott standing with his back to the fire, eyeing him 
fiercely, and in a state of great excitement. To go to his usual 
place at the table it was necessary for Mr. Wm. Boott to walk 
directly towards him. He had planted himself there apparently 
to get the advantage of that position. Mr. Wm. Boott appeared 
to take no notice of this, but walked, in his usual manner, towards 
his place, when Mr. Wright Boott, with an intensely excited 
manner, and shaking his fist, broke out, " You damned scoun- 
drel — you deceived me about" — and referred at once to the 
same matter which had been the subject of the correspondence 
more than a year before — a subject about which he was, at that 
time, perfectly satisfied, and not a word had been said, or written, 
since, nor had any thing new occurred relating to it. Mr. Wm. 
Boott, keeping himself perfectly cool, said in a very calm tone, 
"No — I told you the exact truth." Mr. Wright Boott went on, 
however, giving him the lie in the most direct and offensive 
terms, — swearing at him in a most violent and abusive manner, 
— and finally struck him a blow in the face — and then seemed 
to be overcome with his own passion, trembling exceedingly. 
Mr. Wm. Boott, considering that he was dealing with a mad- 
man, made no personal defence, but recovering from the blow, 
said, in the same calm tone, " Wright, this was very foolish of 
you, for if I had not commanded myself, we might have shed 
each other's blood." He replied, in a tone of great bitterness, 
" I wish to God you ivovld take my life." Finding that his pas- 
sion was over, and that he was in a state of perfect feebleness 
from tremor, Mr. Wm. Boott then reminded him of what he had 
written to him, formerly, aboTit the danger of his mind's being 
disordered by his way of life, and told him, that what he had 
just done showed the truth of it, and that his conduct had been 
such as to drive away from him every member of his family. 
He asked what proofs there were of that. Mr. Wm. Boott men- 
tioned several, and among them his conduct to Mrs. Brooks, 
who used to be very kind and attentive to him, until he had 
treated her so that she had been obliged to break off all inter- 
course with him. He replied — " She has been meddling with 
my business." Mr. Wm. Boott then asked what he meant? 
The answer was, that she had been advising his mother to sell 
the house. Mr. Wm. Boott remarked, that that was no cause 
or insulting her; that she had the same right with himself to 
advise her mother to sell, or not to sell ; and that he, Mr. Wm. 
Boott, had given the same advice himself. Mr. Wm. Boott then 
reminded him of his conduct towards the Ralstons and the Ly- 



75 

mans ; when he broke out with some remarks, concerning one of 
his sisters, so irrational, that Mr. Wm. Boott told him, that if he 
chose to talk in that way there was no use in holding farther 
conversation with him. He then went and sat down by himself 
at some distance from the breakfast table — remained there some 
minutes, as in fixed thought, and then got up and left the room. 
It was apparent, that he was past being reasoned with, on any 
matter of unfounded suspicion that had taken hold of his mind. 

Mr. Wm. Boott mentioned, that evening, to myself and Mrs. 
Brooks, what had occurred. We were alarmed at it, and urged 
him not to go back to the house, but to take a bed at ours. He 
declined this, however, saying he was more afraid that Wright 
would do violence to himself than to anybody else. He deter- 
mined, however, to consult friends as to what had better be 
done. The next morning he met Mr. Wright Boott again at 
breakfast, and he was then as calm as usual, but would not 
speak. On his way to Lowell, Mr. Wm. Boott consulted Mr. 
P. T. Jackson, who was in the cars. He had never before told 
anybody, but Mrs. Brooks and myself, and Mr. Hooper, who 
had been a witness of some of the scenes, what he thought of 
his brother's state of mind. Mr. Jackson, at first, was for return- 
ing immediately to town, and having him taken to the Asylum. 
But this Mr. Wm. Boott would not consent to. He wrote to 
his brother, Dr. Francis Boott, on the subject, and in the evening 
went, by Mr. Jackson's advice, to see Mr. Lowell about it. Mr. 
Lowell, as soon as he saw Mr. Wm. Boott, said, " Wright has 
been beforehand with you ; he said there had been a difficulty 
between you, and that you kept your temper and he lost his." 
Mr. Wm. Boott then gave Mr. Lowell an account of the scene, 
omitting, however, the subject of the former correspondence, 
which he had, at that time, never mentioned to anybody, except 
Mr. Hooper, whom it concerned, and does not now choose to 
have stated unnecessarily. He expressed his apprehension that 
his brother would do some violence to himself, if he continued 
living alone as he did, and urged Mr. Lowell to see if he could 
not persuade him to make a visit to England. Mr. Lowell soon 
after told Mr. Wm. Boott, that he had consulted Dr. Jackson 
about his brother, and that both Dr. Jackson and himself 
thought it best, that, in Wright's present excited state, Mr. Wm. 
Boott should not remain in the house, as his presence seemed 
to be cause of irritation. Mr. Wm. Boott acceded to that advice ; 
but some ten days, or more, elapsed, before he found suitable lodg- 
ings to remove to. In the mean time he saw his brother several 
times. He did not speak — but nothing else occurred remark- 
able, except that one morning, after breakfast, Mr. Wm. Boott, be- 
fore going to Lowell, went out to the stable, and while there the 
servant brought him a note from Mr. Wright Boott, whom he had 



76 

just left in the parlor. The note, of which the original is now in 
my possession, was without address, or signature, written in a 
hurried hand, and ran as follows : — 

" James has informed me, that on the house being sold, you 
had made arrangements with him to take his effects into your 
care, as guns, pictures, &c., with a permission to me to select 
from among them any thing I might choose. I have informed 
him that I shall retain his portrait of mother, the plaster horse 
on the mantel piece, and the old barometer — and I have in my 
last letters from him directions about Snip, which I shall fulfil. 
After the present week, I request you will provide some other 
place of deposit for your letters at the Post office^ and request 
you will not attempt to take any from my box, and shall give di- 
rections to the Postmaster accordingly. 

My 6th, 1843." 

The closing sentence disclosed some new causeless suspicion, 
which had entered his mind, about his letters. Letters for Mr. Wm. 
Boott had, up to that time, always come through Mr. Wright 
Boott's box, as the family box ; but in consequence of this sugges- 
tion, Mr. Wm. Boott immediately procured a separate box, and 
soon after removed to his new lodgings at the Albion, where his 
own letters used to be brought to him. It was a year and a half 
after this, that the scene occurred in thePost office, testified to by 
Mr. Greene. In the mean time, no case had ever happened, to Mr. 
Wm. Boott's knowledge, or recollection, of any letter addressed 
to Mr. Wright Boott coming to the Albion. It once happened, 
that a package, directed to a lady, but addressed to the care of 
Mr. Wright Boott, and not coming through the Post office, was 
left, by mistake, at the Albion, and this Mr. Wm. Boott immedi- 
ately sent, unopened, to the house. He knew of nothing else, in 
the world, to give the shghtest color to Mr. Wright Boott's sus- 
picions and complaints about his letters going to the Albion, 
though, it seems, he had repeatedly made such complaints to 
the clerks in the Post office. 

Mr. Wm. Boott, after he left the house, was never inside of it 
again till his brother's death ; and had no communication with 
him, except a short note written to him on the subject of ac- 
counts. He is not a direct witness, therefore, to any part of his 
conduct after July, 1843. The remaining facts come from other 
sources. Mr. Wright Boott had nobody to live in the house with 
him, after this, except young Mr. Wm. Wells, who still continued 
there, and the servants. Young Wells fell into declining health, 
and died there early in 1844. It so happened, that, shortly before 
or after this, a cook, who had lived in the family a long time, 
died ; and that the man servant was taken crazy, and carried to 
the hospital, where he died. Another old servant, a female, 



77 

went away. Mr. Wright Boott, therefore, was left entirely alone, 
with one female servant only in the house. In February, or 
March, 1844, Mrs. Lyman, having lost her husband, and being 
left without any present means of support, requested permission 
to live in her mother's house. Mr. Wright Boott had had no 
intercourse with her, or her husband, for years, and had formerly 
treated her very ill. In answer, however, to an affectionate letter, 
written in her affliction, making that request, Mr. Wright Boott 
called to see her, and was at first kind in his manner, but soon 
after insisted on her signing a formal paper, promising to observe 
certain conditions, already aUuded to. She was never to see 
him, but to live by herself in her own apartments, and never to 
permit either Mrs. Brooks, or Mr. Wm. Boott, to visit her. The 
original paper ought to be in Mr. Lowell's possession, as execu- 
tor. No copy was kept by Mrs. Lyman, Its terms, as above 
stated, were strictly observed. He had his meals in the par- 
lor, — she in her own room ; and they never met. This con- 
tinued to his death. 

Not long before his death, as the time was approaching when 
the house, which had been sold, was to be given up to the pur- 
chaser, Mrs. Lyman, anticipating a removal, wrote him another 
affectionate letter, hoping that such circumstances might reopen 
their intercourse, or at least soften his feelings. But it was im- 
mediately sent back unanswered. As he lived so entirely alone, 
during this period, — had no communication at all with most of 
his family, and none of them saw him, except casually, and for 
short times, — few persons can say anything very positive about 
him, from personal observation. There were two female ser- 
vants in the house, Mrs. Lyman's woman, and his own. Mrs. 
Lyman did not see him at all. The servants were of course 
daily, though casual, observers of his habits of life. Such per- 
sons are not very valuable witnesses on a question of partial 
insanity, so far as it depends on opinion, — they are not apt to 
think a man insane, unless it be insanity of the broadest and 
plainest kind. But they are valuable witnesses of \he facts they 
observe, especially as they are likely to be quite unprejudiced. 
Not long after his death, these two women were separately ex- 
amined by Franklin Dexter, Esq., at the request of Mrs. Lyman. 
The inquiry was not particularly directed to proof of insanity, the 
object being simply to show his course of vexatious conduct with- 
out provocation, in consequence of some reports to the contrary 
which Mrs. Lyman wished to set right in the family. But both 
these witnesses were found to agree in their statement of mat- 
ters which bear on the principal question. They prove the fact, 
that he would not permit his sister, during the entire year, to 
have the slightest intercourse with him, either by speech, or writ- 
ing ; that she was never permitted to see him ; that all advances 



78 

in the way of kindness, or civility, were on her part, and always 
repulsed by him, commonly with rudeness; that she was sub- 
jected by him, while in a delicate state of health, to many petty 
vexations ; and that there was nothing in her conduct, percepti- 
ble to these witnesses, to give him the least offence. One other 
fact, which they state, has a material bearing on the question of 
his insanity at this period ; that is, a habit (which was of recent 
origin), of talking aloud to himself, loud enough for them to hear 
in adjoining rooms, though not to understand what he said. 

Another witness, of the same description, is a woman who had 
lived in the family eighteen years, ending July 6, 1844. She 
was examined by Sidney Bartlett, Esq., at a later period, as coun- 
sel for Mrs. Lyman, and with reference to the expected trial. 
From his minutes it appears, that she, also, would testify to this 
habit of his, during the latter years of his life, of mutlering and 
talking to himself, both in the parlor and in the garden ; and 
that it increased upon him after the death of young Wells, in Feb- 
ruary, 1844. From the same minutes, it appears that she would 
testify to her own observation of his habitual ill-treatment of 
Mr. Wm. Boott, during the last years of their living together 
in the house ; and that Mr. Wm. Boott's conduct towards his 
brother, during the same period, always appeared to be kind, and 
free from offence. 

His idea of some plot against him, to which Mr. Wm. Boott 
and Mrs. Brooks and myself were parties, appears by the ex- 
tract above given from his letter to Mr. Hooper. At that time he 
considered Mr. Hooper to be in the league. More commonly 
Mrs. Lyman, whom he does not speak of in that letter, was as- 
sociated in the conspiracy. He considered her to have been put 
into the house by me, as a spy over him. He repeatedly stated 
this; and in the very last letter he wrote to Mr. Lowell, the night 
before he destroyed himself, he made that assertion in writing, as 
appears by Mr. Lowell's own statements. In reference to this, 
one of the women says, that Mr. Wright Boott used often to in- 
quire of her where Mrs. Lyman had been, whether she had been 
to Mr. Edward Brooks's, and whether Mr. Wm. Boott came to 
see her. But, in truth, sometimes one person, and sometimes 
another, among his nearest relatives and best friends, was con- 
sidered to be a party to the plot, though the idea was not com- 
monly a lasting one, except in respect to those who are above 
named. At one time, when Mr. Lowell was recommending 
him to make a visit to England, he charged him with being " in 
the plot, and as bad as any of them." This I had from Mr. Lowell 
himself. He viewed in the same way an invitation to Lon- 
don, from his brother. Dr. Francis Boott, as appears by a letter 
from Dr. Boott to Mr. Wm. Boott, dated March 31, 1844, from 
which I am permitted to make this extract : " I cannot offer any 



79 

excuse for J. W. B." [i. e. Mr. Wright Boott], " who, in whatever 
way I look at you, seems to me the common marplot. You say 
he is crazed. I believe it. But it is north-north-west, for his 
letters, which I see here, save one to me, in answer to my invita- 
tion, are sane enough. In that letter he was furious, and I gave 
the extract to Mr. Wells. I wish you could see it, for I know 
not where the original is. The purport was, that I had been put 
up to ask him to leave Boston, and he resented my proposal as if 
I had offered him an insult." 

Dr. Boott, to whom the principal events above-mentioned were 
fully communicated, by Mr. Wm. Boott, as they occurred, con- 
sidered them plain evidences of partial insanity, as appears 
abundantly from numerous letters, in addition to those above 
cited. From one of them it would seem, that the late Mr. Kirk 
Boott entertained such a suspicion, several years before. In- 
deed, I might quote remarks of that gentleman to me, tending 
to such a conclusion ; but I prefer quoting from others when I 
can, and I do not pretend, that, at so early a period, any such 
idea had occurred to myself. The letter of Dr. Boott to which 
I now allude, is dated July 3, 1843, and was written immediately 
after receiving Mr. Wm. Boott's account of the outrage commit- 
ted on him, and described in a letter in which, as Dr. Boott 
states, the remark of Mr. James Boott, on reading it, was — 
" What a temperate letter, written under cruel provocation ! " 
Dr. Boott himself says — " Nor can I see any explanation of the 
outrages to Avhich you have been exposed, other than that you 
suggest " — which was that of insanity. Dr. Boott stales a number 
of other circumstances, which he himself recalled to mind, and 
adds — "All point to your conclusion. At least, it is the only 
one I would willingly believe in. It has taken the direction of 
preying on his kindred, and / can trace it years back. Kirk al- 
luded to it, as affecting himself and Anne, when he was last in 
England, and the very first outbreak was enough to show the 
unsoundness of mind." On receiving the original of the letter 
from Mr. Wright Boott to Mr. Hooper, referred to in Mr. Hoop- 
er's testimony. Dr. Boott asks, " What can I say about J. W. B. 
and his strange delusions ? This last is quite enough to satisfy 
his tribunal of honorable men " [referring to a phrase in that 
letter], "that on one point he is as mad as any monomaniac ever 
tvas. It would be to no use to search for the insult " [spoken of 
in that letter], " for I have no doubt in his own perplexed mind 
it shifts its hues as the chameleon does." Another letter of Dr. 
Boott's, dated April 18, 1844, speaks of " an extract from the 
signed agreement " under which Mrs. Lyman was admitted into 
the house, as having been sent out by Mr. Wright Boott to Eng- 
land with a letter in which he " said nothing more than that 
Mary" [Mrs. L.] " had taken her room, and that the paper was 



drawn up to prevent future misunderstandings ; " on which Dr. 
Boott remarked, to his mother, " that in my opinion the strange 
requisition of a signed agreement from Mary argued a morbid state 
of mimV Another letter of Dr. Boott's, dated Jan. 4, 1844, is to 
Mrs. Brooks, and says, — " 1 can only express my sympathy in 
your feelings on the subject of Wright's conduct to you and Mr. 
Brooks. I know of no explanation of it, but a perverted head, or 
heart; and the first is melancholy enough, but the preferable of 
the two. You have done all you could do, and must rest in this 
conviction, pitying the delusion to which you and others are vic- 
tims. I wrote to Mr. Wells and desired him to communicate my 
letter to you and William. You would see in it the evidence of 
Wrig'ht^s absorbing suspicions'^ In that letter. Dr. Boott's re- 
mark was, that Wright's mind seemed to have become " suspi- 
cion's sanctuary." 

Dr. Boott's opinion is that of an eminent medical man, founded 
upon the facts which have now been mainly set forth. He was 
not an eye-witness of any of them, but his opinion is valuable as 
a medical opinion, if the fact is that these outrages were com- 
mitted without provocation. Of that there can be no reasonable 
doubt, in the principal case, upon the concurrent statements of 
Mr. Wm. Boott and Mr. Hooper, corroborated as they are, too, 
by the woman servant, who is the only other living witness of 
the daily occurrences at the house during that period. 

Dr. James Jackson also, as I was informed by himself, when 
consulted by Mr. Lowell, in the summer of 1843, gave his 
opinion, upon the facts slated by Mr. Lowell, that Mr. Wright 
Boott was not of sound mind. Those facts were, partly at least, 
the same which Mr. Wm. Boott stated to Mr. Lowell, but com- 
pared also with Mr. Wright Boott's own account to Mr. Lowell 
of the scene which ended in a blow. It is true, that nearly a 
year after, Dr. Jackson gave to Mr. Lowell a contrary opinion, 
founded upon Mr. Lowell's statement at that time. What the 
statement was I am not informed. Without that, the opinion, 
of course, is of no weight. We do know, substantially, the facts 
upon which the first opinion was founded, and that they were 
less than the whole truth, because Mr. Wm. Boott, when he 
spoke of the affair, preferred, as he still does, not to disclose the 
subject of his former correspondence with his brother, lest it 
should injure him in Mr. Lowell's opinion. He contented him- 
self with saying, that the scene arose out of an affair in which his 
brother was entirely in the wrong. And yet that subject, which 
probably lay at the bottom of the outrage, is, to those who knew 
Mr. Wright Boott well, the strongest confirmation of his de- 
ranged state of mind. 

It was once said by Mr. Lowell in my hearing, that Dr. Boott 
also, afterwards, altered his opinion respecting his brother's de- 



81 

rangement. I doubt whether Mr. Lowell has sufficient ground 
for that statement ; although it is true, that, at one time. Dr. 
Boott's opinion was somewhat shaken by representations 
from Mr. Lowell himself, and the opinion obtained from Dr. 
Jackson on Mr. Lowell's statements to him. The evidence I 
have of that is a letter, now before me, from Dr. Boott, dated 
June 18, 1844, from which I am permitted to make the fol- 
lowing extract. " My feelings have undergone no change, 
except perhaps as to the state of Mr. J. W. Boott's mind, in con- 
sequence of the letters received by my mother from Dr. Jack- 
son and Mr. Lowell^'' The letter from Dr. Jackson, thus re- 
ferred to, was not addressed to Mrs. Boott herself, but to Mr. 
Lowell, and transmitted by him in confirmation of his own 
statements. This appears by another letter from Dr. Boott, 
dated July 2, 1844, in which he speaks of the effect upon his 
mother of " the appeals made to her., and simultaneously, from 
Mr. Lowell {who enclosed a note to him from Dr. Jackson), 
from Mr. Wells, and Mrs. Ralston." 

This discloses the fact, that certain members of the family 
were, at this time, making representations to Mrs. Boott, respect- 
ing the course which I was then pursuing, in conjunction with 
Mr. Wm. Boott, to place Mrs. Boott's property in a state of secu- 
rity. It will presently be seen, that we had good reasons for the 
course insisted upon, quite unknown either to Mr. Wells, or Mrs. 
Ralston. But that is not material to the present point. My object 
now, in referring to this letter of Dr. Boott's, is, to show, that, so 
far as Dr. Boott's opinion was at that time shaken at all, it was by 
Mr. LowelVs own statements, confirmed by a note, which he had 
obtained from Dr. Jackson, expressing an opinion which was 
also founded upon Mr. LowelVs own statements to him, which 
statements were, at the time, and still are, unknown to me. Sub- 
sequent events, I have reason to believe, left Dr. Boott's opinion 
of his brother's insanity precisely where it originally was. In- 
deed, the suicide, and the circumstances attending it, if they 
cannot be otherwise rationally accounted for, were, in themselves, 
the strongest confirmation of the fact to most minds. 

In this connection it becomes proper to consider the will of 
the deceased, and the circumstances attending that ; because a 
rational will may be regarded, in itself, as presumptive evidence 
of the sanily of the testator. This subject requires a passing 
view of the state of affairs at the time it was made. It was 
executed September 9, 1844. That was at the height of the 
unfortunate discussion in the family, which arose upon the very 
question, whether Mr. Wright Boott was entirely sane, or not, and 
the question, if sane, whether it was suitable, or not, that he should 
remain in charge of the family property, with an accession of 
$46,000, in ready money, to be derived from a sale of the house. 



62 

I have already shown what facts were known to me, and through 
me to Mr. Wm. Boott, proving Mr. Wright Boott's incompe- 
tency for such a trust ; and that these facts were not known to 
other members of the family, and especially to certain ladies of 
the family, who, therefore, misunderstood and misrepresented the 
views, purposes and feelings of Mr. Wm. Boott and myself. 
It will be seen, by-and-by, that this also was in some degree 
owing to their confidence in statements and opinions expressed, 
or intimated, by Mr. Lowell, who, it seems, had made up his 
mind that his friend, Mr. Wright Boott, was to be carried through 
a particular crisis in a manner conforming to Mr. Lowell's own 
view of the accounts, and protecting the interest he had in their 
settlement on a certain ba?is, which may, perhaps, have influ- 
enced his opinions and actions more than he himself was aware. 

At the time of the making of the will, Mr. Wright Boott was 
fully possessed with the idea, that his brother, Mr. Wm. Boott, 
his sisters, Mrs. Brooks and Mrs. Lyman, together with myself, 
were in a plot to ruin him. He considered his brother. Dr. Fran- 
cis Boott, to be under our influence, and a conniver at our 
scheme, as appears by Dr. Boott's letter of March 31, 1844, above 
cited. According to his distorted view of affairs, a call for a 
setUement of his accounts, as executor and trustee, after an inter- 
mission of twenty-six years, was only a part of the conspiracy ; 
and the object, which we all had much at heart, of inducing him, 
through those who had any influence over him, to make a visit 
to England, in the hope that change of scene, and a change in 
mode of life, might lend to restore a healthy state of mind, he 
regarded as another part of the plot, and for the sole purpose of 
getting him out of the way. Hence his feeling towards one 
member, at least, of the family in London. 

The Ralstons, who lived in Philadelphia, he had seen nothing 
of for years, until very recently ; and when they formerly parted, 
his feelings were particularly bitter against them. But Mrs. 
Ralston, in 1843, and again shorfly before the making of this 
will, had made him a visit ; and as she was always amiable, and 
found him alone, and unhappy, her feelings became, naturally 
enough, enlisted in his favor ; and the consequence of this short 
intercourse was, that his feelings towards her underwent a sud- 
den revolution, and he set her down as his best friend in the 
family. The ladies of the Wells family were particularly warm in 
advocating his merits, and regarded our proceedings, so far as 
they understood them, probably upon his visionary representa- 
tions, and with the idea that they had the support of Mr. Lowell, 
as quite unjustifiable. Mr. Wells himself, who it will be 
shown was ignorant of the state and management of the prop- 
erty, was rather disposed to sympathize in the views of those 
who surrounded him. Mrs. Kirk Boott, and some of the young 



members of her family, partook of the same views, owing, 
mainly, as will presently appear, to their confidence in state- 
ments of Mr. Lowell. It is somewhat remarkable, that, among 
the members of the family resident here, those who had the best 
means of knowing facts and appreciating their importance, on 
a point of business then to be settled, were united in one view, 
while they w^ho knew nothing of the facts, and therefore could 
not appreciate the importance of the arrangement proposed, 
mostly took the opposite view, and condemned those who were 
acting from the truest regard to the best interests of all concern- 
ed, and without the slightest feeling of hostility towards Mr. 
Wright Boott, whose errors they, at this time, set down to a 
cause not under his own control. 

Mr. Lowell, who had always been the friend and adviser of 
Mr. Wright Boott, so far as he would take advice from anybody, 
of course stood high in his regard ; though even he once endanger- 
ed it, by venturing to recommend a voyage to England. At this 
time, Mr. Lowell was acting energetically, with and for him, in 
reference to the settlement of accounts, and other business then 
to be transacted, and was therefore in the highest favor. Mrs. 
Lyman, on the other hand, was the supposed spy of his ene- 
mies set to watch over him. Such were his views and the state 
of his relations, in his own mind, towards the several branches 
of the family, at the time of the making of this will ; and the will 
is made in precise conformity to these notions. 

It gives to Mr. Wells his stock of wine and a chaise. To 
Mrs. Kirk Boott his prints, pictures, and busts. To her eldest 
son his tomb at Mount Auburn, his share in the Athenaeum, his 
guns and sporting apparatus. To a mechanic of his acquaint- 
ance "all my tools and machines, and materials for mechanical 
purposes, and books relating thereto " — a collection worth prob- 
ably several thousand dollars. To Mr. John A. Lowell, " all my 
plants, and gardening apparatus, and botanical books." It then 
proceeds as follows: "I further give, devise, and bequeath to 
John A. Lowell, Esq., his heirs, executors, or assigns, for ever, 
all my interest in reversion in and of certain real and personal 
property held in trust under the provisions of the will of my late 
father ; and all the interest in reversion in certain real and personal 
property held in trust under the provisions of the will of my late 
father, ivliich was conveyed to me by William Lyman and Mary 
his wife ; and all the interest in reversion in certain real and per- 
sonal property held in trust under the provisions of the will of 
my late father, wliich was conveyed to me by Robert Ralston and 
Ann his wife; — In trust, first to pay and discharge a debt of 
twenty-five thousand dollars ivhich I owe to him,, and after that 
ghall have been discharged, Secondly, to pay to each of the 
daughters of my brother-in-law, Wm. Wells, their heirs and as- 



84 

signs, viz." [naming them] " one thousand dollars ; Thirdly, to pay 
to Ann, widow of my late brother Kirk, her heirs and assigns, 
four thousand dollars ; and lastly to pay to Ann, wife of Robert 
Ralston, all the remainder of my estate, real, personal, and mixed, 
and I hereby declare her to be my residuary legatee." It then 
appoints Mr. Lowell sole executor. [See App. No. 26.] 

Thus it will be seen, that, under the influence of his insane de- 
lusion, he cuts off from the smallest share of his property every 
one of the brothers and sisters whom he supposed to be, directly, 
or indirectly, implicated in the plot, and does not even bestow a 
mark of regard upon any of them, or upon any of his nephews 
and nieces belonging to those branches of the family ; while all 
those whom he, at the moment, regarded as his friends and sup- 
porters, are substantially rewarded, and Mrs. Ralston, to whom 
he had so lately become reconciled, is singled out for his princi- 
pal and final bounty. Now, although there may be nothing irra- 
tional in such a disposition of property, if the testator has any 
real cause of well-grounded offence, towards parties who are ex- 
cluded from their legal inheritance, it becomes so, if his oflence 
is the offspring of mere imagination, and produces manifest 
injustice. Such is its operation here. In respect of his sister, 
Mrs. Brooks, it was perfectly proper, that she should be excluded 
from any thing more than a mere mark of regard, because 
she stood less in need of a share of the inheritance than 
some others of the family. It was perfectly proper, that Mrs. 
Ralston should have a share, and a large one, because her 
property had been sunk in the unfortunate business of the Mill 
Dam Foundry. The legacies to the other ladies were by no 
means objectionable. But in the division of the bulk of his 
property, why should Mr. Wm. Boott, the brother of whom he 
had once been particularly fond, to whom he had paid nothing' on 
account of the $20,000, or more, which should have come to him 
from his father's estate, and who had generously released him, in 
his distress, from all claim on that account, have been wholly cut 
off? Why was he, but for the delusive belief that he was an ene- 
my who had wronged him ? It may be said, that he was a single 
man, and therefore required a share less than others. Granting this, 
why should his brother, Dr. Francis Boott, a professional man, 
with a large family to provide for, have been wholly excluded, 
but for the belief that he also lent his countenance to the plot ? 
Above all, why was nothing given to Mrs. Lyman, a widow- 
ed woman, and the most necessitous of all his sisters, but for 
his insane belief that she was my spy in the house? Her case 
is particularly striking and singularly hard. Mr. Wm. Boott and 
myself he may have considered, with greater show of reason, as 
some did who are not reputed insane, but who were ignorant of 
the facts which he knew, to be acting harshly towards him, in re- 



85 

quiring a change in the trusteeship. But Mrs. Lyman was no party 
to that — she was not one who refused to execute the deed — for 
she had no interest to release. Her right in the mansion-house, 
and all her reversionary interest in her own patrimony, had been 
conveyed to Mr. Wright Boott himself, in the settlement of 1831, 
in discharge of her husband's indebtedness upon the unfortunate 
business of the Iron Foundry. It was nearly a third part of all 
the property he had to dispose of by his will. Why should it not 
have been restored to her, when it could no longer be used by the 
brother to whom she had generously relinquished it to satisfy his 
demand upon her husband ? As an heir to her brother, the 
law would have restored to her a fraction of it. Why should 
he cut her off even from that ? What offence towards him had she 
been guilty of to justify this cruelty, when she was left with- 
out a husband to support her, and without property? The 
offence was, that she kept up her intimacy with her own sister, 
Mrs. Brooks, and her own brother, Mr. Wm. Boott, as she 
did with others of the family, — that he associated her in his im- 
aginary league, — and considered her supplication for shelter, un- 
der her mother's roof, to be a contrivance of mige for espionage 
upon his movements through her vigilance. It was, in my judg- 
ment, as clear a case of mental delusion operating upon the tes- 
tamentary act as any to be found in the books — and there are, 
I am told by my counsel, several, in which wills, perfectly sensi- 
ble in their construction, and bearing no marks of insanity upon 
their face, have been set aside for a similar cause, notwithstand- 
ing the attesting witnesses testified to their belief of the testator's 
sanity at the time of its execution. 

It is this consequence to Mrs. Lyman, which has led me to 
regret the agency I had, in conjunction with Mr. Lowell, in bring- 
ing about the settlement in 1831, between Mr. Wright Boott 
and his partners, whereby two married ladies were permitted to 
part with future rights of property which were their own, in sat- 
isfaction of present debts which were their husbands'* — property, 
which, in the event of their surviving their husbands, as Mrs. Ly- 
man did, the creditors of their husbands could never have reached, 
and which they were under no obligation, legal, or moral, to devote 
to such a use, depriving themselves of future independence. What 
brother holding the property, by such a transfer, as his own, and not 
moved by the spirit of insanity, would omit to restore it, when 
no longer needed for himself? The merits of the two ladies in 
this transaction were equal — they had equally contributed to en- 
able their brother to preserve the remnant of family property 
which he held in trust for their mother during her life — they had 
equally made him whole, to the extent of their whole patrimony, 
for the losses he had sustained in connection with their husbands. 
Yet, he takes the share of one who stood most in need of it, 



86 

and gives it to the other, who was at least under no pressing 
necessity ; and that for no reason which could have influenced, 
for a moment, a sound and rational mind. 

He had formerly said, that even his own share of the reversion, 
which might come to him at the death of his mother, he would 
never touch a cent of [see K. B.'s letter of May 22, 1831, App. 
No. 8 ] ; because he considered it as justly belonging, on the 
principle of reparation, to the brothers and sisters, whose property 
he had taken and unintentionally wasted. That was the healthy 
sentiment of his right mind. Yet, now, we find him, under mor- 
bid influences, anticipating the possibility that, by his own death, 
the law would make very nearly, if not exactly, the same distri- 
bution of it that he would formerly have made for himself (if liv- 
ing at his mother's decease), and contriving beforehand to defeat 
the justice of the law, by cutting oft' all his brothers and sisters, 
save one, for whom he had conceived a momentary affection. He 
not only does that, in respect of his own share, but he heaps upon 
that one, without reason, the share which he had derived from 
her sister, when every sentiment of honor and ^justice and charity 
conspired to d^uand, that it should be restored to that sister. 
This was the ingenuity of a madman, working upon his own 
dream. 

There is another circumstance to be noted, respecting the 
substantive operation of this will. It was made September 9, 

1844. It was in effect revised and published anew, March 6, 

1845, when, according to Mr. Lowell's statement, it was enclos- 
ed to him in a letter of that date, written in contemplation of 
immediate death. Mr. Lowell refuses to produce, or show, that 
letter ; but it contains, by his own admissions, statements which 
are evidence of the insane delusions under which the writer was 
then laboring — although Mr. Lowell chooses to insist, that it con- 
tains no marks of aberration of mind, but "is written with great 
calmness, as befitted the occasion.'" In the interval, between the 
date of the will and the date of the letter which transmits it to be 
used as a will, (for so we must infer from Mr. Lowell's statements, 
without seeing the directions contained in that letter), a most ma- 
terial change had occurred in the testator's pecuniary affairs — one 
which, I presume, is not in law a revocation of the will — but 
which would probably have led a man, not acting under insane in- 
fluences, to alter and modify its final dispositions. A principal ob- 
ject of the will appears to have been, to secure, out of his rever- 
sionary property, the payment to Mr. Lowell of a private debt 
of $25,000, which he knew he had no other means of pay- 
ing — the same debt before spoken of, for which the trust 
property of his father's estate stood pledged. That property he 
was probably advised, by Mr. Lowell himself, could not be legally 
held and applied to the payment of that debt. A settlement of 



87 

accounts had been called for, and it was probably in contempla- 
tion, that in case of such settlement, and a change of trusteeship, 
the pledged property must be given up by Mr. Lowell. The sub- 
stitute was to be his reversionary interest in his father's estate, 
which, as one form of security, he provides by the will shall be 
placed in Mr. Lowell's own hands in trust, first to pay himself 
out of it. His whole property, besides personal effects, was three 
ninth parts (viz. his own share as an heir of his father, and Mrs. 
Lyman's and Mrs. Ralston's, derived from their transfers to him 
in 1831) of the mansion-house estate, agreed to be sold for 
$46,000, and of the trust fund of $100,000, or so much of it as 
remained, appropriated by his father's will to the support of Mrs. 
Boott. In all, it was short of $50,000, to become his at his 
mother's decease. The payment to Mr. Lowell would reduce it 
to less than $25,000. Out of that he gives, by his will, particu- 
lar legacies to the amount of $8,000, making the residuary be- 
quest to Mrs. Ralston, as intended by the will, when made, at 
furthest, about $16,000 — which was just restoring to her the 
share of her father's estate, which she had formerly conveyed to 
him. But about two months after the making of this will, the 
material change occurred, to which I now refer. 

It will presently be seen, that Mr. Lowell had, before the 18th 
of November, 1844, induced him to adopt a form of account, pre- 
pared by Mr. Lowell himself, and the same which is referred to in 
his testimony before the coroner's jury, exhibiting an apparent bal- 
ance of $25,000 and a fraction as due from his father'' s estate to 
him. That account I shall by-and-by call particular attention to. 
At present I barely refer to the fact, adding, that this account was 
adopted by the heirs as the basis of a settlement by way of com- 
promise, and to secure the residue of the property in the hands 
of a new trustee. According to that account, Mr. Wright Boott 
was possessed of $25,000 of present properly, independently of 
his reversionary interest in his father's estate, and out of that 
supposed present property the debt to Mr. Lowell was in fact 
paid, as part of the settlement which occurred in December, 
1844. Tais, of course, superseded the provision of the will re- 
specting the prospective payment of that debt, and left the testator 
$25,000 more to dispose of than be had contemplated at the time 
of making it. The operation of the will was, of course, to pass 
it all to the residuary legatee, making the bequest to her upwards 
of $40,000, instead of $16,000, as was intended when the will 
was made. Instead of barely restoring to her the property which 
she had conveyed to him in 1831, it bestows upon her, also, the 
entire property conveyed to him at the same time by Mrs. Ly- 
man, and considerably more, stripping Mrs. Lyman of every- 
thing which was once legally hers, and to which, in common 
justice, she had still the strongest equitable claims, the whole 



object of the transfer being necessarily satisfied when her brother 
should die, and his accounts be settled. And this was the effect 
of a will prepared, not in reference to the state of things existing 
at his death, but its effect by reason of a subsequent settlement 
of accounts, to which he was, in my view, only passively a party. 
Did he intend what he did ? Mr. Lowell asserts it, when he 
says this paper was enclosed to him on the 6th of March, as a 
will which was to take instant effect. He takes that upon his 
own responsibility, when he refuses to produce the letter which 
enclosed it. Was the testator sane, when he thus stripped one 
sister, who had done him no wrong and given him no just cause 
of offence, of everything, even that which had come to him from 
herself, and gave it all to another, not more deserving and less 
in need of it, who happened, by a casual intercourse, under pe- 
culiar circumstances, to be a momentary favorite ? Or was he 
so insane, that he did not know, that such must be the effect of 
the will, after the settlement of accounts which had happened? 

There is something also very curious in the circumstances of 
the preparation and execution of this will. Whoever reads the 
clause which has been extracted above, will see at once a precision, 
accuracy, and technicality of expression about it, which indi- 
cates, that it must have come, directly, or indirectly, from the hand 
of a person conversant with the legal effect of phrases, and practised 
in the forms of testamentary disposition. This attracted the atten- 
tion of Mr. Curtis, who had always acted as his counsel, and who 
might well have expected to be employed, if any lawyer was, to 
draw a will for him. Mr. Curtis, it appears by his testimony, 
was induced to ask him if he had taken legal counsel, or had 
got a lawyer to draw it, " because there was technical language 
in the will, such as would be used by a lawyer, and not by 
a merchant." His answer was that " he had not." — Who had ? 
How was it effected ? The whole paper was in Mr. Wright 
Boott's own handwriting, attestation clause and all, — a techni- 
cal form which persons not accustomed to make wills are not 
acquainted with, — and in this instance embodying an unusual 
addition in the words, " we further certify that the said testator 
was of sound and disposing mind." That the attesting witnesses 
are always called upon to prove, but do not commonly certify 
on the face of their attestation. How and why happened this ? 

To any person acquainted with Mr. Wright Boott and his 
habits of writing, it is as palpably impossible, that the language 
of this paper should have been his own composition, as that he 
should have written accurately a treatise upon the law of devise. 
Yet it is all in his own hand. It was not taken from a draft written 
by his usual lawyer. He said he had not himself consulted any 
lawyer, or got any lawyer to draw it. He asks his own usual law- 
yer to read it over, not as counsel, but as a friend, to see that it is 



89 

in right form ; and then executes it in the presence of that gentle- 
man and his two partners, getting them to certify, expressly, that 
he was of sound and disposing mind. Now, he had been 
warned by his brother William, a year or two before, on this 
very point of insanity. His probable insanity, on certain points, 
had been a subject of discussion among members of the family, 
and between them and Mr. Lowell ; there was a division of 
opinion about it; he had been called upon to render his ac- 
counts ; certain of the heirs of his father's estate had declined 
executing a deed which was to place $46,000 more of trust money 
in his hands ; there had been considerable excitement on the 
subject ; what was said by some was very likely to have reached 
his ears through others ; and under these circumstances, a man 
who had nothing to dispose of which did not in justice belong 
to his brothers and sisters, and who was most unlikely to have 
made a will at all, produces this will, ready written, in his 
own hand, but evidently not his own language, except by 
adoption, disposing of. his property precisely according to the 
delusions, concerning persons, which affected him at the time, 
and in a manner to make unusual evidence of his own san- 
ity. It shows great contrivance, not uncommon with the 
partially insane, who are, of course, never convinced of their 
own insanity, and are yet apt enough to be jealous lest it should 
be suspected by others ; and it indicates aid and advice from 
some quarter, though not from his usual lawyer, as appears by 
Mr. Curtis's testimony. 

I may now dismiss the subject of Mr. Wright Boott's partial 
insanity, with the further remark, that, so far as concerns the 
vindication of myself and of Mr. Wm. Boott, for the course we 
took to prevent the placing of $46,000 more of trust money in 
his hands, as will presently be explained, it is not so material 
to determine whether he was actually insane, or not, as to de- 
termine whether we honestly believed it, or not, and had reason- 
able ground for our belief. It has been sometimes said, that 
the course taken, since it involved a settlement of accounts, 
called for by one of the heirs, was inconsistent with the notion 
that Mr. Wright Boott was not a sane man, and that, if we really 
thought him insane, the proceedings towards him were harsh. 
This will be better judged of, when I have stated exactly what 
the occurrences of that period were. For the present, it is enough 
to remind the reader, that Mr. Wright Boott was not considered 
by anybody, to be in a state of such dangerous madness as to 
justify, or require, his removal to a lunatic asylum — though even 
that had been suggested at the time of his attack on Mr. William 
Boott. He was not considered so insane as to be incapable of 
acting, under advice, in the settlement of an account, or of trans- 
acting other business, not relating directly to the subjects of his 
12 



90 

insanity. Mr. Lowell and others did not admit him to be insane 
at all ; and consequently, it was necessary to treat him, to a cer- 
tain extent, as a sane man, and to characterize his conduct ac- 
cordingly, when speaking of it to those who refused to believe 
the suggestion of insanity. There was no alternative short of 
putting him under guardianship ; — that the case did not require, 
and to have attempted it would have been regarded as a measure 
of extreme harshness. This doubtful position may have produced 
a seeming inconsistency in what was said, or done, to effect an 
important object, by parties who believed him insane, but who 
found others would not believe it. The fact of partial insanity 
is always somewhat difficult to realize. It is a conclusion 
slowly arrived at, and until the doubt is settled into a deep con- 
viction, extravagances of conduct are apt to excite the irritation 
due to ill behavior by a sane man. It is by no means uncom- 
mon to find the best friends of a person who begins to exhibit 
symptoms of insanity, treating it for a time as if it were mere 
wilfulness. And when others not only refuse to admit the in- 
sanity, but even endeavor to justify a course of conduct which is 
unjustifiable on any other ground, that becomes of itself a sub- 
ject of provocation, and forms an issue distinct from the insanity, 
leading to remarks founded on the opposite hypothesis. Both 
Mr. Wm. Boott and myself were often placed in that position ; 
but whatever either of us may at times have been provoked to 
say, under such circumstances, not to Mr. "Wright Boott him- 
self, for we had no direct intercourse with him, but to some 
of his indiscreet defenders, such casual conversations did 
not affect our course of action, nor alter the deliberate judg- 
ment we had finally formed concerning the true cause of Mr. 
Wright Boott's singular behavior. Since, however, Mr. Lowell 
himself has often expressed the opinion, that Mr. Wm. Boott 
and myself acted under this honest conviction, I presume he 
will not now draw it into doubt. If he should, Mr, William 
Boott's confidential letters to his brother, Dr. Boott, (and Dr. 
Boott's answers, above referred to, sufficiently indicate their 
contents), are a sufficient voucher for him. For myself, I can 
also prove, by others, a fact which establishes the reality of my 
own convictions. It happened, that, while at home in my own 
house, within two or three hours after I had heard of Mr. Wright 
Boott's suicide. Dr. Bigelow called to visit Mrs. Brooks, who 
was ill. Upon that occasion, after telling him what had hap- 
aened, and how much of a question it had been in the family 
whether the deceased was insane, or not, and how much feeling 
had been excited on the subject, in certain quarters, and how desir- 
able it was, for the sake of peace in the family, that the point 
should be set at rest, if any doubts yet remained, after the fact 
that had just occurred, I expressed to him my desire, that there 



91 

should be an examination of the brain, if, as I had been told, 
that would be likely to exhibit visible marks of the morbid state 
of mind which I believed to have existed. I requested him 
to call and confer with Dr. Jackson on the subject, who I knew 
had seen the deceased. He did so ; but, upon that conference, 
the opinion of the medical gentlemen was, that the injury to the 
brain, by the wound which the deceased had inflicted upon it, 
in shooting himself through the head, was so extensive, that it 
must defeat the object of such an examination, if it might other- 
wise have afforded a safe conclusion. No examination, there- 
fore, was made ; and the fact is no otherwise important than as 
evidence of the strength of my own conviction that he was not a 
sane man. That there were reasonable grounds for such a belief 
on the part of Mr. Wm. Boott and myself, is apparent enough 
from the fact that other persons, upon the same evidence, or even 
upon a part of that evidence only, believed it. 

As to Mr. Lowell's own state of mind upon the subject, I 
never had any very clear evidence what it was, until I was made 
acquainted with his testimony before the jury. He never directly 
admitted to me, nor do 1 know that he did to others, a belief that 
Mr. Wright Boott was not sane. Indeed, he could not well do 
that, while he was acting as his agent. But my inferences from 
his remarks were, that he entertained at least a strong suspicion, 
and indeed I thought a secret belief, of it. I am informed by 
Mr. Wm. Boott, that the subject was not unfrequently alluded 
to, in conversations between himself and Mr. Lowell, commonly 
a few remarks only, made when they met in the cars, on their 
way to or from Lowell. In these conversations, Mr. Lowell, 
knowing Mr. Wm. Boott's opinion, never expressed, decidedly, 
an opinion of his own, that Air. Wright Boott was, or was not, 
insane. He spoke of him, often, as having been in a very ex- 
cited state — or as being calmer than usual — and used other like 
turns of expression — but never used the term sane, or insane. 
These casual and short conversations continued for some consid- 
erable time after the affair of the blow, which Mr. Wm. Boott had 
communicated to Mr. Lowell; —but the subject was finally 
dropped, because Mr. Lowell said, that Wright was beginning 
to consider him in the conspiracy with the rest, and in order that 
he might preserve his influence over him, he wished to be able 
to say that he was not talking with Mr. Wm. Boott about him. 
Mr. Wm. Boott considered it, and so did I, a great object that 
Mr. Lowell's intercourse with him should be kept up, and that 
whatever influence he had over him should not be impaired, 
hoping that he might be induced, by a visit to England, to change 
his mode of life and current of ideas. In the mean time, it ap- 
pears, that Mr. Lowell twice consulted Dr. Jackson, on the sub- 
ject of Mr. Wright Boott's condition of mind. 



92 

Having now disposed of those branches of inquiry which con- 
cern the fitness of Mr. Wright Boott to be a holder and manager 
of trust property, whether he was a man of sound mind, or not, 
and those also which concern the question of his partial insanity 
and my own grounds for believing it, I now proceed to state ihe 
facts respecting the conduct of myself and others, at the period 
referred to by Mr. Lowell in his testimony at the inquest. 

In April, 1844, no new light had been obtained, by any of the 
heirs, respecting the state and security of the trust property in Mr. 
Wright Boott's hands. I knew how it was situated in 1831, 
and, from what I had observed since, could conjecture, very nearly, 
how it must still be situated. Mrs. Boott had been many years 
in England, and it was believed had no intention to return. It 
was known to me, that Mr. Wright Boott could have no prop- 
erty of his own ; none distinct, at least, from the property of his 
father's estate, in which he, in common with other heirs, had a 
reversionary interest. It was apparent, that the heavy expense 
of a separate establishment, kept up in Bowdoin Square for Mr. 
Wright Boott's sole use, must be constantly falling, either upon 
his mother, or upon the reversionary interest of the heirs, some of 
whom could ill afford it, and that its continuance was not justi- 
fied by circumstances. Mr. John A. Lowell, as the friend and 
usual commercial agent of Mr. Wright Boott and Mrs. Boott, 
concurred in that opinion. It had been talked of, at intervals, for 
some considerable time, and letters had passed upon the subject 
to and from the members of the family in England, and it was 
finally agreed, by common consent, that the time had come when 
the Mansion House ought to be sold. Mr. Wright Boott him- 
self, as I was informed by Mr. Lowell, acquiesced in that opin- 
ion, though not very readily. He seemed, at times, to consider it 
a part of the plot against him. 

It will be recollected, that, by the terms of the will, Mrs. Boott 
was to have the use of this house during her life ; but that her 
husband, with excellent judgment, provided that, should the 
house prove too large for her, or should the fund for her 
support, from any cause, prove insufficient to enable her to live 
in it, the widow and the executor should have power to make 
a sale of it, and out of the proceeds to purchase a smaller house 
for her use, and to invest the balance in stocks, to be divided 
according to the previous provision at her decease. On the 
presumption that Mr. Wright Boott and his mother possessed 
the power, Mr. Lowell, as their agent, had agreed to give a deed 
of the estate. This first happened, I think, in October, 1843. 
That the house should be sold, was a point determined several 
months before. This appears by the letter, before quoted, from 
Mr. Wright Boott to Mr. Wm. Boott, dated July 6, 1843. In 
pursuance of that determination, a bargain was actually made by 



93 

Mr. Lowell, about ihe month of October, selling the house for the 
sum of $42,000 ; but Mr. Wright Boott, though the bargain had 
been made by his own authority, afterwards, for no good reason 
that I am aware of, refused to ratify it — a circumstance at v/hich 
Mr. Lowell was, at that time, considerably discomposed. That 
bargain was thus broken off, and the sale consequently postponed 
for several months. In April, 1844, Mr. Lowell made another 
bargain, by which the house was sold to Mr. Wm. Lawrence, at 
the advanced price of $46,000. This Mr. Wright Boott pro- 
fessed himself willing to ratify, and all parties concerned were 
well pleased with the arrangement. The heirs, — those of them, 
at least, who were satisfied of Mr. Wright Boott's incompetency 
for a trustee, — made no objection to the sale, or to the price; 
on the contrary, they thought a sale very desirable, and the 
price a fair one ; but they intended to apply to the Judge of Pro- 
bate to have the proceeds safely invested, according to the terms 
of the will, — Mr. Wright Boott having for sureties, on his exec- 
utor's bond, no one but his mother, and Mr. William Wells, one 
of the heirs. [See App. No. 3.] In the mean time, when it be- 
came necessary to decide on the form of the deed, a difficulty arose. 
The lawyers decided, that neither of the contingences had arisen, 
which would authorize the widow and executor to convey the 
estate ; — Mrs. Boott could not say the house was too large, as 
she lived in England, had done so for years, and had no 
intention of returning to Boston ; — Mr. Wright Boott would not 
admit that the fund was insufficient for her support ; — and there- 
fore they recommended, that, to make all safe, the signatures of 
the heirs individually should be obtained. The purchaser de- 
clined taking the title without that confirmation. 

This placed the heirs in a new position. We were now called 
upon to do a positive act, the effect of which would be to put a 
new trust fund into the hands of Mr. Wright Boott. None of 
the family, except myself, knew anything of the condition of the 
property already there, or of the manner in which he had man- 
aged it. Messrs. Lyman and Ralston had parted with all their 
interest in it, by the deed of 1831. [App. No. 9.] Dr. Boott and 
Mr. James Boott were in London, and were besides quite unac- 
quainted with the material facts. Mr. Wells, though near at hand, 
was not a man of business, and knew nothing of the case. I state 
this not merely of my own authority ; — it is stated by Mr. Wells 
himself, in a letter to Mr. Wm. Boott, dated Dec. 8, 1843. [See 
App. No. 18.] Mr. Kirk Boott, of Lowell, had died several years 
before. Mr. Wm. Boott was the only man of business left in the 
family, to consult with. To him I communicated, freely, the 
fads already known to me. From my intimacy with the late 
Mr. Kirk Boott, I thought I knew what he would have advised, 
if living ; for he thoroughly understood Mr. Wright Boott's char- 



94 

acter, and the position of the property, and there was the most 
entire confidence and union of views, between him and myself, 
on these subjects. His letters sufficiently indicate that. They 
show, besides, that even a resignation of the executorship, at a 
proper time, was an event he looked forward to as long ago as 
1831, and which, as I know, he thought very desirable. What 
his opinion would have been, in an emergency like that which 
had now arisen, I could not doubt. I was, moreover, acting as 
a trustee for his family, and of course had no right to give my 
consent to what I did not think a safe course. In short, most 
of the parties interested being, for one reason or another, incapa- 
ble of forming a correct judgment in a business of this nature, I 
felt that the duty of judging for the common interest had, in a 
great degree, by circumstances, been thrown upon me, and 
that mere matters of feeling ought not to govern the decision. 
Mr. Wm. Boott, when consulted, and made aware of the facts, 
so far as I knew them, fully concurred with me. Other judi- 
cious friends, not of the family, entertained no doubt about it. 
Indeed, from what has gone before, I think no one, unless Mr. 
Lowell be an exception, will say that we were to blame in requir- 
ing some security, before we placed $46,000 of ready money in 
the hands of Mr. Wright Boott, — especially as we had reason to 
believe that he had a letter from his mother, authorizing him (as 
she supposed, and very probably he too), to appropriate the pro- 
ceeds of the sale of the house, to build a house and green-house 
in the country, for his own use. With Mr. Wright Boott's habits 
and ideas on such subjects, it was quite apparent to Mr. William 
Boott and myself, that nearly the whole money, very probably 
more, would soon be sunk in the cost and expense of such an 
establishment, which, at any rate, would be of very little value as 
property. If we once signed ihe deed of the house, and permitted 
the new fund to go into Mr. Wright Boott's hands, without se- 
curity, it was clear, that all control of it would be lost, and that 
we could not ask the Judge of Probate to protect us, after we 
had neglected, with our eyes open, to protect ourselves. 

When the question arose, therefore, about the heirs joining in 
a deed of the house, Mr. Wm. Boott thought it, under all cir- 
cumstances, a proper occasion for him to have an account of the 
trust property stated, since he had never had any information 
respecting it, except what he had recently derived from me. 
He wrote with that view a note to his brother, early in June, 
1844, equally avoiding terms of familiarity, which he knew 
would be resented, and terms likely to give offence, and simply 
requesting him to render his accounts in the Probate Office. He 
was answered through Mr. C. G. Loring, as his brother's coun- 
sel, to the effect that the accounts required would be rendered 
with no avoidable delay. These notes will be found in the Ap- 



95 

pendix [Nos. 22 and 23.] This request appears to have been no 
surprise. The necessity of some settlement was, no doubt, 
apparent to Mr. Lowell, as soon as he became aware, — and that 
was at some time in April, — that the deed would not be signed 
without proper security for the fund. Hence, certain papers, cal- 
culated to facilitate a settlement of accounts, by due representa- 
tion of parties in London, were executed there May 29, (some 
days before Mr. Wm. Boott's note to his brother), I presume at 
Mr. Lowell's suggestion. [See App. Nos. 20 and 21.] This 
was not known at the time, either to Mr. Wm. Boott or to me. 
But soon after Mr. Wm. Boott's note had been sent, he was 
told by Mr. Lowell, that Mr. Wright Boott was previously pre- 
paring the accounts, in consequence of a suggestion from him- 
self, that the state of feeling in the family would make it neces- 
sary for him to settle them. 

With regard to Mrs. Brooks and myself, we made no call for 
accounts. We simply made up our own minds to sign no deed 
of the house, until some satisfactory arrangement should be made 
respecting the disposition of its proceeds. This was not signi- 
fied with any unnecessary harshness. We never had any com- 
munication on the subject with Mr. Wright Boott. Our com- 
munication had ceased with him a long time before ; and any 
attempt to reopen it on our part would only have been regarded 
as an offence, and received with insult. He was, at this time, 
particularly full of the idea of a plot against him, to which we 
were parties, and that Mrs. Lyman was put in the house to 
watch him. Neither had we any direct communication with 
Mr. Lowell, who had the management of the business for Mr. 
Wright Boott. He never called upon us to request that a deed 
should be signed, nor to consult either of us upon the subject, 
although wdth him we were on the most friendly terms. Indeed, 
all that ever passed, in the way of communicating our decision, 
so far as I remember, was a short conversation I had in State 
Street, with Mr. N. I, Bowditch, who had charge of making a 
satisfactory title to the purchaser. Accidentally meeting me, he 
mentioned the difficulty which had struck him about the title un- 
der the proposed deed from Mrs. Boott and the executor, and said 
he should be obliged to call on Mrs. Brooks and myself, and the 
other heirs, to join in a conveyance. I then explained to him 
the objections I had to signing a deed, founded upon my want 
of confidence in Mr. Wright Boott's management of trust prop- 
erty, especially now that I considered him to be insane on points 
which made hini peculiarly unfit to be a trustee for most of his 
brothers and sisters. I added, that I should sign the deed with 
great pleasure, if the trust property could be placed in the hands 
of some responsible trustee, with good sureties. This, I pre- 
sume, was communicated to Mr. Lowell, and was the only act 



96 

done by me, until the question arose about the settlement of Mr. 
"Wright Boott's accounts, several months after, which will pres- 
ently be staled. If it was proper, under the circumstances, to 
prevent this fund from passing into the hands of Mr, Wright 
Boott, I know not how it could have been done in a way less 
offensive. The business was transacted wholly through coun- 
sel. My sole motive in requiring a change of trusteeship was, 
that I thought it important, both for the security of Mrs. Boott 
during the remainder of her days, and for that of Mr. Kirk 
Boott's family, and, indeed, of those heirs, generally, who 
understood nothing of the merits of the question, that what- 
ever was left of a diminished estate, justly belonging to them, 
should not continue in the charge of a man whom I believed to 
be actually insane, and whom I knew to be, at any rate, incompe- 
tent to manage trust property, with no sureties upon his bond 
except Mrs. Boott herself and one of the heirs, who could ill 
afford to make up any considerable deficiency to others. So 
long as I was not called upon 1o do anything, in reference to the 
trust property, I had been willing to avoid officious interference; 
and had disclosed to nobody my knowledge of Mr. Wright 
Boott's affairs, and of the affairs of others in his hands. Per- 
haps I am hardly free from blame in not having done so at an 
earlier period. -But, however that may be, the question now 
put to me, and which I was compelled to decide, for others 
as well as myself, was, whether I would actively cooperate 
in confiding $46,000 more of the family property, in cash, 
to that gentleman's management, under all the circumstances 
known to me, most of which were unknown to the other parties 
interested. I presume I should have been justifiable enough, in 
taking the stand I did, from regard to my own pecuniary interest 
merely. But if that had stood alone, or others who were capable 
of acting had understood the real state of the case, and had been 
here to act for themselves, I should probably have preferred my 
chance of loss to the unpleasant consequences of insisting on 
terms. As it was, I felt that the duty of acting for all devolved 
upon me, in conjunction with Mr. Wm. Boott, as the only other 
business representative of the family here, excepting Mr. Lowell, 
who, in this matter, was representing Mr. Wright Boott himself, 
and not the adverse interests. 

The fact of inability, on the part of Mr. Lowell, to give the 
promised title, and the cause of it, of course, became notorious. 
The first consequence was, a great sensation created in the fam- 
ily. Relatives and connections, who knew nothing of the facts 
which I knew, — ladies, especially, unacquainted with biTsiness 
transactions, and who had all along disbelieved every statement 
o the disadvantage of Mr. Wright Boott, for whom they had 
great love and respect, and who had attributed all troubles in 



97 

the £amily, neither to misconduct, nor insanity, on his part, but to 
the ill-treatment of others, — considered this refusal to sign a deed, 
by Mr. Wm. Boott and myself, without a settlement of accounts 
and change of trusteeship, a great outrage, and raised a cry of 
persecution, which I did not feel myself called upon to answer, 
while it was confined to those whom I knew to be igno- 
rant of the facts, and who could not easily be made to un- 
derstand them. Communications were made to the members of 
the family in England, of the contents of which I am not fully 
informed. Mr. Lowell appears to have been a party to some of 
those communications. By the records of the Probate Office, 
it appears, that, on the 29th of May, 1844, papers were executed, 
in London, as before stated, by Mrs. Boott and Dr. Francis Boott, 
which seem to have been preparatory to the presentation of an 
account by the executor to the Judge of Probate. Dr. Boolt's is an 
acknowledgment of full payment and satisfaction for all sums due 
to him from the executor, and a release of all claims and demands, 
expressly declaring, however, that nothing therein is to be con- 
strued as exempting his brother from any liability to account 
for his further proportional share of the trust fund. This 
placed Dr. Boott very nearly, if not exactly, on the same foot- 
ing with the other heirs, who had executed a release to Mr. 
Wright Boott in 1883. The paper executed by Mrs. Boott 
acknowledges, that the executor and trustee " has fully and 
faithfully paid me, or appropriated and accounted to me for, 
all the income " of the trust fund of $100,000, " to my entire 
satisfaction and approval, and has continued in the occupation 
of said house and its appurtenances by my direction, and used 
the same as my representative and conformably to my wishes ; " 
and that the settlement of periodical accounts had been dispensed 
with " by reason of the unlimited confidence existing between 
us ; " and it releases the executor and trustee from all claims and 
demands whatsoever up to that date, and requests the Judge of 
Probate to admit that instrument as full proof of payments of any 
sums which should be credited to her, or appear to be due to 
her, and which should be charged as paid in any account which 
might be rendered by her son, as executor, or trustee. [See App. 
Nos. 20 and 21.] 

This paper, which I never saw until long after the whole busi- 
ness was settled, was a ratification beforehand of Mr. Wright 
Boott's accounts, whatsoever they might be, so far as the interest of 
Mrs. Boott extended, and upon the information which had been 
given her. Soon after its receipt in this country, accompanied by 
certain letters, a correspondence occurred between Mr. Wm. Boott 
and Mr. John A. Lowell; in which the former, under date of 
June 22, 1844, says : " I have, with great surprise, lately learned 
from England, that you have been writing to my mother about 
13 



98 

the difficulties existing in her family, and that your opinion, or 
advice, has had an influence in determining her conduct towards 
some of her children." He then requests a copy of what had 
been written, and the reason for the interference — states that he 
had learned, that he, Mr. Lowell, had, a year ago, made a state- 
ment to Dr. Jackson, upon which he gave an opinion, that Mr. 
Wright Boott was of unsound mind, and had since made ano- 
ther statement which led him to reverse his opinion, " and that 
he, at your request, gave this second opinion in writing" — and 
inquires whether this was so, and if so, when the second state- 
ment was made, what it was, and why the opinion was got in 
writing, and whether he, Mr. Lowell, had inquired for and was 
possessed of the facts necessary for forming a correct opinion on 
the question. Mr. Lowell's answer, of June 24, states that he 
never wrote to Mrs. Boott, and had never given, directly, or indi- 
rectly, any opinion, or advice, that could influence her conduct 
towards her children. He admits, or at least does not deny, the 
statements respecting his interviews with Dr. Jackson, but- says, 
" I never made any statement of facts to Dr. J. except such as re- 
ferred to the state of feeling between the parties — facts suffi,' 
ciently notorious." What his statement was he does not disclose 

— but says, " I did not request of him to reduce his opinion to 
writing." He concludes by saying, ^^ I did write to Frank [i. e. 
Dr. Francis Boott] on the subject of the state of his brother'' s mind" 

— and offers to read that letter to Mr. Wm. Boott, if he would 
call on him. [See App. Nos. 24 and 25.] 

It would seem from Dr. Boott's letters, in the appendix, that 
Mr. Lowell did not confine himself to addressing Dr. Boott — 
but had written to Mrs. Boott, also, letters received there before 
June 18 [see Dr. Boott's letter of that date, App. No. 19]. How- 
ever this may be, a letter to Dr. Francis Boott, on a family 
subject, Avas, of course, much the same thing as a letter to Mrs. 
Boott, who lived with her son. But the contents of the letter I 
am not fully informed of. Mr. Wm. Boott did avail himself 
of the offer to call and hear it read — and Mr. Lowell read to 
him, at the same time, a draft of a letter to Mrs. Boott, which it 
was understood had not yet been sent — but Mr. Wm. Boott is 
unable to recollect the contents of these letters, except that they 
went to explain the circumstances under which property of the 
estate had come to Mr. Lowell's hands, as security for Mr. 
Wright Boott's note, which he took and held as a trustee, without 
fault on his own part ; and also were calculated to convey an 
impression that Mr. Wright Boott's state of mind was not one 
of insanity. 

With the exception of these matters, nothing material oc- 
curred, to alter the position of the business in Boston, from 
April to November, 1844, when Kome impatience of the pur- 



99 

chaser of the house began to be manifested respecting the deed. 
Mr. Wm. Boott then called on Mr. Loring, his brother's counsel, 
to know if the accounts might be expected. His note, and Mr. 
Loring's answer will be found in the appendix [Nos. 27, 28]. 
This resulted in the production, shortly after, of the account pre- 
pared by Mr. Lowell, under date of Nov. 18, 1844, which is the 
same referred to in his testimony before the coroner's jury, " as a 
decided vindication of Mr. Wright Boott against the unfounded 
charges of the heirs, as to the mismanagement of the estate"'— 
and as the result of his own examination of Mr. Wright Boott's 
accounts, upon which " he discovered, that instead of Mr. Boott's 
being indebted to the estate, the estate was debtor to him in the 
sum of $25,000." 

It now comes in order to examine this account, which, both 
before the coroner's jury and elsewhere, has been freely used as 
positive proof of a fundamental error, placing me in a false po- 
sition, throughout these proceedings. 

It was, of course, known to me, from my previous know- 
ledge of the state of Mr. Wright Boott's affairs in 1830 and 1831, 
— from his own formal acknowledgment, then, of his indebt- 
edness, as executor, to his father's estate, — and from the ne- 
cessity which existed, in 1833, for a release to him from 
the heirs, for all he then owed them, — that no real account 
of his executorship could be made which could possibly bring 
the estate in debt to him. For there is no pretence that 
any large sum was ever paid, or advanced, by him to any of the 
heirs after that date — and if there had been, it must have been 
out of the funds of the estate, and not out of Mr. Wright 
Boott's own funds, for the simple reason that he had none, but 
on the contrary, was at one time deeply insolvent, viewing his 
father's estate as a creditor, as has been before abundantly shown, 
and was in no business by which property could have been 
acquired afterwards. The property in his hands, after settling 
the concerns of the foundry, paying his debt to Mr. Sturgis, and 
settling up his guardianship account with the children of Mr. 
Francis Boott, was, all, property purchased with the funds of the 
estate, and all the dividends received from it belonged to the 
estate, of course, or to his mother, and no use he had made of 
that property, or of its income, could possibly have brought the 
estate in debt to him. When the account, therefore, as drawn 
up by Mr. Lowell, who well knew the same facts which I knew, 
was presented to me, exhibiting, as it did, an apparent balance of 
$25,000, as due from the estate to the executor, I considered and 
treated it as a mere proposition for a compromise on that basis, re- 
membering, that such a balance was necessary to cover the pri- 
vate debt yet due to Mr. Lowell from Mr. Wright Boott, for 
which the property of the estate, up to that date, had stood pledg- 



100 

ed. This I had no idea of disturbing, although, .in point of strict 
law, I supposed Mr. Lowell not entitled to hold the property. 
The only point I insisted upon, and about which I was solic- 
itous, was, that what remained of the trust property, whether 
more or less, should be surrendered by Mr. Wright JBoott into 
the hands of some competent trustee, with sufficient sureties, so 
as to secure to Mrs. Boott, and to those after her who stood in 
need of it, as far as circumstances would permit, what they were 
entitled to. 

This was finally accomplished through the agency of coun- 
sel. As a means to bring it about, I prepared, but never 
presented, a petition to the Judge of Probate on the subject. 
Mr. Lowell is mistaken, if he so testified, as stated by one of 
the jurors, in supposing that the heirs, or any of them, ever 
summoned Mr. Wright Boott to a public account in the Probate 
Office. There were no public proceedings whatever to compel 
a settlement. The only call for an account was the private note 
of Mr. Wm. Boott to his brother, before mentioned, and his sub- 
sequent note to his brother's counsel, and such other applications, 
or representations, to his counsel, as may have been made by my 
counsel, in whose hands the petition I refer to lay, to be used 
only in case of necessity. Its existence was never communicat- 
ed, to my knowledge, to Mr. Wright Boott, or even to Mr. Low- 
ell, nor indeed to any person except those who joined in it and 
our counsel. The result was, that it became unnecessary to use 
it — it being privately arranged that Mr. Wright Boott should vol- 
untarily resign his trusteeship, that Charles G. Loring, Esq. should 
be appointed to succeed him, and that the property remaining, as 
well as the proceeds of the sale of the house, should be passed 
over to him. The annexed letter of Judge Warren, who acted 
as counsel for Mr. Wm. Boott and myself and wife, fully ex- 
plains the grounds we took, the course of the negotiation, the 
arrangement which was brought about, and the agency of Mr. 
Lowell therein. [See App. No. 34.] The account, of course, be- 
came a mere form. It was part of the arrangement, that tJiat should 
be passed without going into proofs and vouchers. Judge War- 
ren distinctly states this ; and the certificate of the Judge of Pro- 
bate shows that the account was in fact passed without investi- 
gation, no person appearing to object. [App, No. 29.] It was 
further arranged, that upon Mr. Wright Boott's resignation and 
the appointment of the new trustee, Mr. Wm. Boott, Mrs. Brooks 
and myself, should join the other heirs in executing confirmatory 
deeds to the purchaser of the mansion house, and a full release to 
Mr. Wright Boott of all our respective claims on him as execu- 
tor or trustee. This agreement was entered into, in general 
terms, on, or soon after, the 9th of December, 1844 ; some of its 
details and the preparation and execution of the necessary papers, 



101 ' 

together with the formal proceedings in the Probate Court for 
carrying it into effect, delayed its consummation until the 23d 
of December, on which day the new trustee having been duly 
appointed, the account in question was allowed, as a mere 
matter of course, by the Judge of Probate, without examination, 
no person appearing to object, and releases from every heir being 
placed on file. Yet, this account is now spoken of as if it were 
a reality, proving the fact of advances by the executor beyond 
his receipts, and gross misconduct, in myself and others, in 
imputing to Mr. Wright Boott unfounded charges of misman- 
agement. For this reason only, it requires to be looked at, to 
see how it is made up, and how its statements compare with 
other known facts. 

The first surprise is, that an account of the management of a 
considerable property, extending through a period of near twenty- 
seven years, should be capable of being stated on a single page. 
It is at once apparent, that it is, substantially, a statement only of 
supposed results, and not an account, in the usual form, of the 
particulars by which results may be arrived at. They may be 
correct — but whether they are so, or not, depends on facts which 
the account does not show, nor give the means of ascertaining. 
There is not a date in it, except the dates of the former probate 
transactions. There is no account whatever of the investments and 
changes of investment made from time to time, if there were any ; 
nor of the income received upon them from time to time, nor in what 
manner the particular sums were disposed of. The paper states 
in effect this — that all the money which originally came to the 
hands of the executor, for investment, or distribution, as capital, 
belonging to the estate, was only about - - $186,000 

out of which he had distributed among the heirs, - 90,000 

leaving only of the capital invested, or to be invested, $96,000 

That all the income he had ever received on this capital had been 
paid over " to, or for account, and by order of, the widow ;" so 
that he had only to account, farther, for the $96,000 of undistrib- 
uted capital. But the account then goes on to state, that, at the 
date of its rendition, he holds, in his capacity of executor and 
trustee, (besides the mansion house), property representing his 
own investments, as executor, to the amount of - |121,500 
and, since the undistributed capital which remained 

was only 96,000 



that he had invested, as executor, more than there was, by $25,500 

and consequently, that the estate oives him that money, less some 
small items, which reduce it to the exact sum of ^25,215.45. 
This is certainly a very extraordinary statement, if true ; and if 



102 

it does not prove insanity, must at least be set down for proof of 
mismanagement, though not, it would seem at first, to the detri- 
ment of the heirs, if they had actually received the money. 

That this is what the account really asserts, will be seen by 
analyzing it as follows. [See the Account, App. No. 29.] The 
first item, on the debtor side of the account, is the amount of the 
inventory rendered January 12, 1818, - - $36,984.75 
That consisted of the mansion house, ap- 
praised at $24,000 

The store devised to Mr. Wright Boott, 9,600 

A lot of land devised to the widow, - 500 

A pew also devised to her, ... 200 

And furniture, &c. appraised at - 2,684.75 

which was also left to the widow. 36,984.75 

All these items the executor rightly asks, on the credit side of 
his account, to be allowed for, as delivered over to the widow and 
himself, except the mansion house, which belonged to the widow 
for life, with reversion to the heirs. He might well have asked 
to be allowed for that also, since he is not chargeable for it in 
his capacity of executor, or trustee, unless converted into money 
under the power of sale. At any rate, it has nothing to do with 
his investments, or cash dealings, and may therefore be stricken 
out from both sides of the account. 

The last item, on the debit side of the account, is, " Income 
received on the trust fund for the widow, from March, 1818, to 
Nov., 1844," slated, in gross, at - - - $274,686.36 
This is exactly offset by an item, on the credit side 
of the account, as follows : " Income paid to, 
or for account and by order of, the widow" — 
which is also stated, in g-ross, at - - $274,686.36 

This, as before remarked, is no account, but is only equivalent 
to saying, that all the income received was so paid over, and that 
the gross amount was as above. The two items, balancing each 
other, may be stricken out from both sides of the account, for the 
purpose of seeing what constitutes the cash balance. 

There are then three items, only, left on the debit side of the ac- 
count, namely, 

1. " Cash received from the firm of Kirk Boott & Sons, in part 
of the testator's interest in that copartnership, and invested in 
stocks, to constitute the trust fund, as by his account settled at a 
Probate Court, May 11, 1818," - - - $116,783.95 

2. "Cash received of Boott Sf Lowell, in liqui- 
dation of the outstanding property of Kirk Boott 

& Sons," 69,389.99 

Amount carried forward ... - $186,173.94 



103 

Amount brought forward - - - - f 186,173.94 
At what date this large sum was received from 

Boott & Lowell, is not stated. But it is stated as 

if it were one single payment. 

3. Sundry gains and losses on sales of the stocks, 

constituting the trust fund of $116,783.95, are 

stated, which result in an addition of - 133.61 



The gains and losses on each description of 
stock are stated, but when the sales were made 
does not appear. 

The aggregate of these three items, being all 
the cash stated to have been received by the exec- 
utor, is $186,807.55 

On the credit side of the account are, 

1. Sundry small items of cash paid for probate 
fees, &c. in 1817 and 1818, which amount in the 
aggregate to $23.00 

2. The large item of " Cash paid to 

the heirs, nine in number, $10,000 each, $90,000.00 " 90,023.00 



When paid to each, in what sums, and how, 
do not appear. 

The difference of these sums makes the exact 
cash balance of original capital, adding the small 
gain of $133.61 on sale of stocks, and deducting 
the small payments for fees, - - - $96,284.55 



The account then proceeds to say, that, to meet 

this, the executor has the following property, viz. 

39 shares in the Boston Manuf. Co., stated to have 
cost $48,000 

71 " " Merrimac " " stated 

to have cost 71,000 

Stable in Bowdoin street, deeded to execu- 
tor by J. W. Boott, in 1831, - - 2,500 



121,500.00 

" Less cash balance due to the executor," - - 25,215.45 



$96,284.55 



The mansion house, at $24,000, is added to each side of the 
account, as stated by Mr. Lowell ; and is left out of each side- 
here, so as to exhibit the actual cash transactions bij themselves. 

Now taking the facts to be just as they are here stated, and 
that these are nil the material facts, it follows, that the executor 



104 

had distributed among the heirs, with exact equality, more than 
they were entitled to receive, by upwards of |25,000 ; and it also 
follows, that he had misappropriated more or less of trust funds 
to do it with ; for the trust fund established by the will, and order- 
ed not to be distributed during the life of Mrs. Boott, amounts 

to $100,000 

and the trust funds to be retained during the lives of 

other annuitants, amount to upwards of - - 11,000 



$111,000 



while the undistributed capital of the estate is stated 

to be only a little over 96,000 

exhibiting a deficiency there of ... $15,000 

That is, according to this account, he distributed among the heirs 
$10,000 of his own money, which he certainly had a right to 
do if he pleased, (though not to bring the estate in debt for it), 
and $15,000 of certain trust funds, which he had no right to dis- 
tribute at all during the lives of the annuitants, thereby breaking 
up entirely the fund of which the income was to go to his aunts, 
so long as they remained alive, and the capital to the heirs, only 
after their respective deaths, and even reducing the fund of 
$100,000, which the will appropriated for his mother, during her 
life, to $96,000, though she was still to be provided for. And he 
not only takes to himself his part, as one of the heirs, of this sum 
of $15,000 erroneously distributed, but claims that it shall be 
repaid to him by the estate as a personal advance^ in addition 
to the $10,000 of his own money. 

Indeed, the case, both in respect of over payment to the heirs 
and of encroachment on the trust fund, appears somewhat worse 
than this, upon comparing his present account with that which had 
preceded it in 1818. [ App. No. 6.] He refers to that account, and 
brings forward its nominal foot of $116,783.95 as " cash received 
from the firm of Kirk Boott & Sons, in part of the testator's inter- 
est in that copartnership, and invested in stocks." &c. But the ac- 
count, so referred to, has been shown, before, to exhibit actual cash 
payment, in the purchase of stocks, to an amount short by $10,000 
of its nominal foot, — the two hundred Suffolk Bank shares being 
debited at $20,000, with a note that fifty per cent, of that capital 
was not yet paid in, and the overplus being counter entered, on 
the credit side of the account, by $10,000, for "Balance 2d and 
3d instalments on bank stock not yet payable." It is evidence 
of cash so received, at that time, to the amount of $106,783.95 
only, instead of $116,783.95. It is remarkable that this should 
have escaped the attention of Mr. Lowell, because, if the present 
account, as stated by him, is in all other respects correct, it would 
add $10,000 to the balance claimed as due to the executor, and 



105 

bring the estate in debt to him, upon the principle assumed by- 
Mr. Lowell, to the amount of $35,000, instead of $25,000, and 
show that amount of over payment to the heirs. As it now 
stands, however, the new account may be taken, perhaps, as an 
acknowledgement by the executor, that he did receive from Kirk 
Boott & Sons, at some date after April 1, 1818, (when the 
old account is dated,) the additional |10,000, and with it paid 
the remaining instalments on the bank stock, when they became 
due; and also as an assertion on his part, that the stocks, men- 
tioned in that account of 1818, were purchased specifically as 
an investment "to constitute the trust fund'''' directed by the 
will. 

That was, for the widow, .... $100>000.00 
For the two sisters of the testator, in exact figures, 

$5,555.56 each, i.e. 11,111.12 



Total, $111,111.12 
The stocks purchased, according to the account 
referred to, were, at par, as follows : 
U. S. 6 per cent, stock, - - $43,000.00 

U. S. 7 per cent, stock, - - 31,111.11 

510 Suffolk Insurance shares, - 17,000.00 

200 Suffolk Bank shares, - - 20,000.00 



111,111.11 

The premiums paid, by the same account, were 5,672.84 



Total cash paid, $116,783.95 

This correspondence of the par value of the stocks with the 
required trust fund within one cent, makes it probable, in the 
highest degree, if not certain, that the executor did purchase them, 
as is now stated, for that specific object; that the premiums paid 
were, at the time, regarded as an expense incident to the forma- 
tion of the fund ; and that these stocks, so set apart, whether they 
cost more or less, and their proceeds, when sold, whether they 
should be more or less, were the three trust funds of the will 
amalgamated into one, and spoken of in the present account as 
one. It appears, that the stocks were afterwards sold, though at 
what date does not appear, some at a loss, some at a gain ; and 
that there was in the whole a gain, adding to the fund, $133.61. 

The trust fund, therefore, at some time, was again converted 
into money in the hands of the trustee for reinvestment, and then 
amounted to near $117,000. When and how it was reinvested 
the account does not state ; but we are left to infer, that it may 
have been immediately invested in the manufacturing stocks 
stated to be on hand in 1844 ; though it may have changed forms 
many times meanwhile, and with what gain, or loss, we are left 
14 



106 

to conjecture. But, however that may be, instead of $117,000, 
the present account states about $96,000, only, of capital undis- 
tributed, and shows that this specific trust fund had been en- 
croached upon and distributed to the amount of $21,000, re- 
ducing Mr. Wright Boott's supposed personal advance, in that 
view, to $4,000. It is true, that the two aunts referred to had 
died a number of years ago ; one of them before, and the other, 
I believe, after, (but of this I am not confident), the release 
made by myself and others to the executor in 1833. Their 
funds, therefore, may be supposed to have been distributed, 
before the making of this account. But if so, it affects the 
argument only in degree, since there is, on the face of the 
account, a deficiency of $4,000, even out of the $100,000 appro- 
priated to Mrs. Boott. And if the additional $11,000, for the 
aunts, was really funded for that specific purpose, as would seem 
by the account of 1818, why are we not told, by the account of 
1844, at what time it fell into the general estate again, and when 
and how it was distributed ? 

The accounts, therefore, upon their own face, taking them to 
be true, are evidence of the mismanagement charged, by mis- 
appropriation of a trust fund, to a greater or a less extent; and it 
was a mismanagement of which the heirs have a right to com- 
plain, even if the money taken from the fund was given to them, 
unless done with their consent, upon full disclosure of the facts, — 
which nobody will pretend. It was allowing them to eat up so 
much of their reversionary interest, under the idea that they were 
using only their share of the present divisible property, and leav- 
ing their reversionary share unimpaired to retire upon at a fu- 
ture day. 

Another mismanagement, equally apparent on the face of the 
account, lies in the statement that $10,000 exactly, and no more, 
was paid to each of the heirs. If so, it was a great injustice to the 
minors, and directly contrary to the provisions of the will. Accord- 
ing 1o the will, the shares of those who were of age, in the divisible 
property, were payable in March, 1818. But the shares of the 
minors were to be placed out at interest and paid to them, when 
they -should come of age. The share of the youngest child (Mr. 
Wm. Boott), by accumulation of compound interest, would have 
nearly, or quite, doubled at the time he was entitled to receive it. 
Yet the account states, that all the heirs were paid just alike, and 
precisely $10,000, at whatever time it was payable ; and does 
not state that the shares of the minors were placed out at interest 
for their benefit ; but, on the contrary, does state, that all the in- 
come of all the moneys and investments of the executor, from the 
beginning to the end of his executorship, was "paid to, or for 
account and by order of, the widow ; " and though he speaks of 
it as "income received on the trust fund for the vyidow^^ he gives 



107 

no account of income received from any other source, although 
it is plain, that large sums of money, beyond the $100,000 
appropriated to the widow, must, at limes, have been in his hands, 
and some of them for years, during the minority of the owners. 

These are matters which appear, on Mr. Lowell's own show- 
ing, quite sufficient to justify a charge of mismanagement, and 
unfitness to execute a trust. But when we come to compare 
the statements of the account with other known facts, they be^ 
come still more surprising. Much more than half the debit side 
of the account is made up of income received by th6 executor, 
and set down, in gross, at $274,686.36. Taking it to be correct, 
and it is certainly as large as could reasonably be looked for 
upon a fair investment of the amount of capital stated, the ex- 
ecutor discharges himself of that sum, in gross, as " paid to, or for 
account and iDy order of, the widow." But it is perfectly ap- 
parent, from the exhibit which has been made of Mr. Wright 
Boott's affairs in 1830 and 1831, and of his subsequent means, 
that a very large part of the heavy debts he then owed must have 
been paid out of this income. For, with the exception of his 
interest in the iron foundry which proved valueless, the store in 
Slate street which he sold, and the note of Robert Lilly which 
he collected, and one share of the Merrimac Manufacturing Com- 
pany which he transferred towards settlement of his guardianship 
account, all the remaining property he then held, according to 
his own memorandum of August, 1830, consisted of the very 
same items, namely, 71 shares of the Merrimac stock, and 
39 shares of the Waltham stock, and the stable, which the ac- 
count shows as held by him in his capacity of executor in 1844. 
In the meantime he had paid off $46,000, at least, of the per- 
sonal debts then disclosed, namely, $21,000 to Mr. Sturgis, 
20,000 on his guardianship account, and $5,000 to Mr. Lowell, 
besides the accruing interest on these sums, and on the $25,000, or 
more, still due to Mr. Lowell. The interest on Mr. Lowell's debt 
alone was more than another $25,000. Where did this money 
all come from, if not from the income on these stocks? 

To state the case in another form, let us look at it during a 
particular period after the payment of these principal sums. 
The income received by Mr. Wright Boott on the manufactur- 
ing stocks, from the time Mrs. Boott went to England, in 1836, 
to the time of the stating of this account, in 1844, could not have 
been less than $100,000. During that period of eight years it is 
known to Mr. Lowell, as well as myself, that the regular re«iit- 
tance to Mrs. Boott was $5,000 per annum, amounting to about 
$40,000. The other $60,000 were expended by Mr. Wright 
Boott here, and include, at least, $12,000 paid to Mr. Lowell 
himself for interest. Can these expenditures and appropriations, 
for the payment of his own private debts and the support of his 



108 

own establishment, be said to be, in any just sense, a payment to, 
or for account of the widow ? Were they by her order ^ or even 
at the time made known to her? I presume Mr. Lowell will 
not pretend it, at least so far as payment of debts is concerned. 
Indeed, Mrs. Boott's release, executed at London, in May, 1844, 
states the fact, that there were no accounts stated and settled be- 
tween them, by reason of " the unlimited confidence " she reposed 
in him. The account under consideration, therefore, is mani- 
festly made up upon a mere theory, in this particular. All the 
income Mr. Wright Boott received was from the manufacturing 
stocks in two companies, whose affairs were intimately known 
to Mr. Lowell, and the number of shares held by Mr. Wright 
Boott in each, or by holders under him, from time to time, and 
the amount of dividends paid, were easily ascertained from their 
books. His receipt of income, therefore, was to be reached by com- 
putation, with reasonable accuracy. His disposition of it, on the 
other hand, was not to be ascertained, except so far as the payments 
passed through Mr. Lowell's own hands, because he never had 
either books, or vouchers, to show it, as Mr. Lowell will not deny. 

But the theory of the account is, that all the income which 
ever came to the executor's hands belonged to Mrs. Boott; that 
she tacitly permitted her son to use it as he pleased ; and finally, 
in May, 1844, be^ng applied to for a general voucher to pass 
such accounts as he might present to the Probate Court, she, 
without seeing the accounts, executed a general release of all 
her claims against him, whatsoever they might be, and so ratified 
all his appropriations of her own income to his own use. But, 
although Mrs. Boott may have had the right to give away the 
whole income if she pleased, — and her willingness to forgive 
a large debt to her son, for the sake of passing his accounts, 
may have been equivalent to that, — how does \X justify those pre- 
vious appropriations to his own use, and to a very large extent, 
without her authority, or knowledge, at the time ? The party 
chiefly, or most directly, interested, may have been v/illing, 
afterwards, to overlook it, from motives of affection, — but the 
fact is not the less evidence of his mismanagement, and unfitness 
to be an agent and trustee. It was a striking fact, which could 
not be overlooked by those who knew it, and who were called 
upon to decide, for others, whether $46,000 more of trust money 
should be placed in his hands. 

But the great question of the account is, whether it truly rep- 
resents the whole capital of the estate, and the amount which 
had been distributed, so as to make out the supposed indebted- 
ness of the estate to Mr. Wright Boott. It has been already 
seen, that, if it does, it proves mismanagement, by the breaking 
up and partial distribution of undistributable trust funds. But 
the extent of the mismanagement and consequent loss cannot be 



109 

seen without fixing other facts. My belief is, that much more than 
|90,000 was distributed, or at least permitted to go to the use 
of the heirs ; but not with any equality. If it should be thought 
invidious to point out supposed oi;er-payments to others, I may 
at least point to my own case, which depends only upon the 
question, whether the furnishing of my house was out of my 
wife's portion, or whether that is to be considered as swallowed 
up in the general sweeping credit, claimed in the account, for 
$274,686.36, of " income paid to, or for account and by order of, 
the widow." The total want, on the other hand, of any payment 
whatever to Mr. Wm. Boott, has been already stated, — unless 
allowing him to spend a great deal of money, while a boy, in Eu- 
rope, is to be deemed a payment on account of his capital, while 
members of the family at home were living at the general expense 
of the estate. Mr. Wright Boott, at any rate, did not so consider 
it himself, at the time of Mr. Wm. Boott's return. The fact has 
been also noticed, that his share, and the shares of others who were 
minors for a number of years after their father's death, should have 
been, at the time of payment, much more than $10,000, if that 
and no more was really the original distributable share. $10,000 
was paid to me, by Mr. Wright Boott's personal note, with in- 
terest, so as to give it effect as a payment at the day of my mar- 
riage, in 1821. Was $10,000 at that time distributable? If it 
was, both the aunts, for whom a trust fund of $11,000 was 
formed, were living then, and for many years after. And if this 
is put forward as a true account of the whole executorship, 
since 1818, and not as an account starting with the release 
of the heirs, in 1833, we are obliged to ask why was there not 
a further distribution of the $11,000 at their deaths ? 

But assuming that, notwithstanding these known inequalities, 
and others that might be mentioned, the aggregate credit of 
$90,000 is nevertheless correct, as an average result, the question 
then is, whether it can be true, that Mr. Wright Boott was justly 
accountable, as executor, for no more than $186,000 of monied 
capital. One thing is certain, either Mr. Wright Boott made 
a gross misrepresentation, without any conceivable motive, 
when he stated to me, in 1821, and to Mr. Wm. Boott, in 
1827-8, and I believe to other heirs at other times, that the 
shares presently distributable were $20,000 apiece, or else, the 
account, prepared by Mr. Lowell, does not truly exhibit the 
full amount of capital for which the executor was chargeable. 
The $20,000 apiece would have amounted to $180,000, besides 
the $111,000 of trust funds for his mother and aunts; — in all, 
upwards of $290,000, instead of $186,000, which the account 
shows. What Mr. Boott, senior, really left, I do not pretend to 
know. Mr. Lowell, to some extent, may have better means of 
knowledge. The books of Boott & Lowell are, no doubt, in his 



110 

possession ; and from them, I presume, he arrives at the precise 
sum of $69,389.99, as cash received by the executor from that 
firm, " in liquidation of the outstanding property of Kirk Boott & 
Sons." Bat we want to know, whether this is a mere computa- 
tion of Mr. Lowell's, and if so, upon what data, or whether it is 
the balance of an account in the books of Boott & Lowell, as would 
seem most likely, and if so, what were the items which had previ- 
ously gone into that account, and through what period it extended, 
before we can determine whether it truly represents all the prop- 
erty of the estate which came to Mr. Wright Boott, even after the 
business of liquidation had passed into the hands of Boott & 
Lowell. We want farther to know, when it was paid, in what 
sums, and how it was invested, to determine the extent of his just 
accountability, even for the items of that particular sum. We are 
still more in the dark as to what had come to his hands before 
the firm of Boott & Lowell began. Mr. Lowell, apparently, does 
not go back to the books of Kirk Boott & Sons, or, at least, does 
not rely upon them for information on that head. He refers only 
to the former Probate account setded in 1818, and takes its foot 
as the whole residue of property (besides the items in the inven- 
tory) received by Mr. Wright Boott before the payment to him 
by Boott & Lowell. As evidence of receipt, to the extent sup- 
posed by the present account, this has been shown to be defec- 
tive by the sum of $10,000. But was there, in truth, nothing 
which came to the hands of Mr. Wright Boott, or for which he 
had become accountable to the estate, in the interval between 
the settling of his account. May 11, 1818, and the formation of 
the firm of Boott & Lowell, in 1822 ? Had nothing of his fath- 
er's come to his hands before May 11, 1818, except cash^ as 
stated in that account, and the chattels described in the inventory ? 
The books of Kirk Boott & Sons, I presume, would throw 
light on that question ; but those I have never seen, and do not 
know in whose custody they are. They would seem to be most 
properly, now, in the hands of Mr. John A. Lowell, as executor 
of Mr. Wright Boott. They ought, certainly, to have been in Mr. 
Wright Boott's own possession at the time of the making of this 
account, and should have been open to the inspection of Mr. Low- 
ell. But, since nothing appears to be drawn from them in the ac- 
count stated, we may, perhaps, fairly infer, that they were not look- 
ed at for the purpose ; for it seems impossible, that literally nothing 
should have been collected on account of the old firm from May 
11, 1818, when the Probate account was settled, to Jan. 1, 1822, 
when the firm of Boott & Lowell was begun (an interval of 
nearly four years), and yet that, after those four years had passed, 
near $70,000 of the estate's money should have been collected 
by that firm and paid over to the executor. Yet such is virtu- 
ally the statement of the present account. And it should be 



Ill 

borne in mind, in considering this question, that there were two 
distinct concerns under the firm of Kirk Bootl & Sons. The 
first of them terminated, according to the will, March 19, 1818. 
That firm was formed about three years before the death of Mr. 
Boott, senior. Its members, up to the first of Feb., 1816, were 
only Mr. Boott, senior, and his son, Mr. Wright Boott. After 
Feb. 1, 1816, Francis (now Dr. Francis Boott) had, as appears 
by the will, a right, if he pleased, to become a partner, and I be- 
lieve did, for a short time. These persons, at any rate, were the 
whole of the firm at the time of its dissolution : the notice of 
which was as follows, under date of April 1, 1818 : — 

" The copartnership heretofore existing under the firm of 
Kirk Boott & Sons is dissolved ; settlements to be made with 
John W. Boott. The business will be continued by the subscrib- 
ers, under the firm of Kirk Boott & Sons." 

The subscribers, members of a new house, though under the 
old name, were Mr. Wright Boott, the late Mr. Kirk Boott, of 
Lowell, and Mr. James Boott, now of London. Dr. Francis 
Boott had retired from the business, and Mr. Kirk Boott took 
his place. This second concern, under that name, continued till 
January 1, 1822, when the following notice was published : — 

" The copartnership, heretofore existing between the subscribers, 
•under the firm of Kirk Boott & Sons, is this day dissolved by 
mutual consent. All persons indebted to the late firm are re- 
quired to make immediate payment, and all persons having de- 
mands to present them, to J. W. Boott, or J. A. Lowell, who are 
duly authorized to settle them at No. 30 State street. 

" The business of the late house will be continued at the 
same place, under the firm of Boott Sf Lowell." 

Now, it may be material to note, that the estate had legally 
the interest of a partner in the Jirst concern, and not in the 
second : and that Mr. Wright Boott was the sole liquidator of the 
first concern, and Boott & Lowell were liquidators only of the 
second concern. It is difficult to see, therefore, how Boott & 
Lowell should have had occasion to settle any account with Mr. 
Wright Boott, as executor, or to pay him any moneys in that 
capacity. Their settlement must have been with Kirk Boott & 
Sons, the second concern, whose affairs they were appointed to 
liquidate; and consequently it could not have involved moneys 
of the estate, except such as Mr. Wright Boott may have per- 
mitted, improperly, to be employed in the trade of Boott & 
Lowell, or such balance of the estate's money as may have been 
passed to that concern by Kirk Boott & Sons, the second, if Mr, 



112 

Wright Boott had improperly invested moneys of the estate in 
that. His plain duty, as executor and surviving partner, was to 
have wound up fully the business of the old concern, in which 
his father was a partner, as soon as the business would permit. 
The rights of all persons interested in it, through the estate of the 
deceased partner, became fixed March 19, 1818. No new trade 
was to be carried on, after that date, on their account, nor at their 
risk, with one exception. The will, contemplating the proba- 
bility of a new partnership by some of the testator's sons, au- 
thorized the executor to make, in that case, a specific loan, at 
interest, to such new house, of the shares of his then minor 
children, until they should come of age. That, upon the theory 
of the present account, would have amounted to a loan of 
$30,000, and no more. Nothing belonging to the estate, as an 
undivided property, could, rightfully, have been placed in the 
second concern ; its partners may have placed their own shares 
there, and doubtless did ; the ascertained shares of the minor 
children might also have been placed there by way of loan to 
them, though the present account neither states, nor suggests, any 
such specific investment; but whatever collections the second 
firm may have made, on account of Mr. Wright Boott as liqui- 
dator of the first concern, these, I presume, must be considered 
as having come to his hands at once, in his capacity of executor, 
the moment they were collected, he being himself one of the col- 
lecting agents. Such moneys should have been immediately 
distributed among the parties entitled, and not continued in trade, 
except so far as specific loans went, authorized by the will. But, 
1 apprehend, it will be found, if the truth can ever be got at, that 
Mr. Wright Boott made no such distinctions — but suffered the 
capital and outstanding transactions of the first house, in which 
the estate was a partner, to be indiscriminately mingled with the 
funds and business of the second house, in which the estate 
could not rightfully be a partner, and, which, it appears by Mr. 
Kirk Boott's letter of February 8, 1826, [App. No. 7,] must have 
have been a very disastrous one ; since his own share of the 
loss in it, not only used up all his own present share of his 
father's estate, but brought him into a very heavy debt beyond 
that. Now it was only the diminished outstandings of this 
second ruinous concern, which could have been the subject of 
a settlement by Boott & Lowell, and of a payment by them 
to Mr. Wright Boott, at some time, of near $70,000, "in 
liquidation of the outstanding property of Kirk Boott & Sons," — 
for that is the name of the second concern as well as the first. 
And the interest of the executor in such a payment, if it was 
made to him as executor, which is the fact asserted by the 
present account, is no evidence that the second concern had not 
received, used, and lost a much larger portion of the original 



113 

estate, before the firm of Boott & Lowell came into existence. 
Whatever they had so received Mr. Wright Boott was charge- 
able for as executor, and not for the mere leavings which may 
have been collected by Boott & Lowell. 

The only important items of debit in this account, namely, 
the amount of cash which had been specifically invested before 
May 11, 1818, and the amount of cash stated to have been paid 
over to the executor by Boott & Lowell at some time after Jan- 
uary 1, 1822, coupled with the total omission of any intermediate 
receipt by the executor, are facts which I am unable to reconcile 
with other known facts upon any hypothesis, except that of great 
loss to the estate, unwarrantably incurred by the executor, in this 
second concern, for which he well knew himself to be personally 
liable, and which he originally intended to make good, and pro- 
bably would have made good if he had been successful in all his 
subsequent speculations. How else can we account for his 
represeiitations at all times, when he made any, that each heir 
was entitled to a dividend of $20,000 from the estate ? How 
else, for his feeling the necessity of a release from the heirs in 
1833, and particularly from some of them to whom he had, in fact, 
already paid $10,000, or more, which, according to Mr. Lowell's 
account, exceeded all he owed them? How else, for the fact 
stated to me by the late Mr. Pratt, that Mr. Boott, senior, at the dis- 
solution of the firm of Boott & Pratt, was a richer man than himself, 
and was afterwards engaged in trade successfully ? And what an 
illustration have we of the difference between a well managed 
and an ill managed property in comparing the results at the 
present day, in the estates of those two gentlemen, both of which 
were, or should have been, out of the hazards of trade at dates 
not far apart I Besides which, direct proof appears of heavy 
loss, sustained by the house which the sons established, in the 
letter of one of the partners (Mr. Kirk Boott) above referred to. 
The extent of it we are left to gather from inference. The facts 
to draw an inference from, so far as known to me, are these. Mr. 
Kirk Boott's divisible share of the estate, whether $10,000 or 
$20,000, was gone. On the 8th of February, 1826, be applied 
to me for a loan of $8,000, to enable him to settle with Mr. 
Wright Boott without disposing of his Chelmsford (i. e. Merri- 
mac Manufacturing Company) stock. On the 17th of February, 
in lieu of that loan, he received from me Mr. Wright Boott's 
note of $10,000, which was equivalent to money for the purpose 
he had in view. That note must, of course, have been merged 
in the settlement. But, in addition to that, it appears by the 
transfer books of the Boston Manufacturing Company (in Mr. 
Lowell's possession), that March 1, 1826, less than a fortnight 
after my transaction with Mr. Kirk Boott, he transferred abso- 
lutely to Mr. Wright Boott nineteen shares in the stock of that 
15 



114 

company, and on the 17th of March, transferred to him two more 
— which shares do not appear ever to have come back to Mr. Kirk 
Boott or his estate. [ App. No. 17.] To effect a settlement with 
his brother, he says, " I must either dispose of ihe larger part of 
my manufacturing stock, or procure a loan. The latter, I think, is 
the preferable course, if I can effect it, as the disposal of any 
part of my interest in Chelmsford stock would not only be highly 
disadvantageous in a pecuniary point of view, but would, at the 
same time, subject me to misconstruction, while I continue the 
agentV The same objection did not apply to his stock in the 
Boston Manufacturing Company, which was the smaller part 
of his manufacturing stock, and that he appears to have disposed 
of immediately after, and disposed of by direct transfer to his 
brother, from whom it is never traced back. Here then are 
three items to show the indebtedness of one of the partners in 
that house to another, arising out of its losses, and for advances 
made on his account, viz.: — 

21 shares of the Boston Manufacturing Company, 
then worth (as would seem from the account in 
question) about $1,300 a share, .... $27,300 
The note of Mr. Wright Boott, which went into the 

settlement, 10,000 

The claim of Mr. Kirk Boott on his father's estate for 
the dividend which belonged to him, stated by Mr, 
Wright Boott at . 20,000 



$57,300 



Was this the loss of one out of three of the partners? Or 
how much more than the others had that partner drawn out ? 

What settlement was ever made, or whether any was, between 
Mr. Wright Boott and Mr. James Boott, the third partner, I am 
not informed, except by a single item. It appears, on the transfer 
book of the Merrimac Manufacturing Company, that, on the 28th 
of February, 182(5, (just about the lime of the supposed settle, 
ment between Messrs. Wright and Kirk Boott), Mr. James Boott, 
also, transferred, absolutely, to Mr. Wright Boott, five shares in 
the stock of that company, which do not appear ever to have 
come back to Mr. James Boott. [App. No. 16.] But, as he was 
barely of age when the house was formed, it is obvious that he 
could have had nothing to put into it, except the dividend due to 
him from his father's estate. And I am unable to perceive how 
Mr. Wright Boott himself could have had much more. So far as 
I am informed, he had no opportunity of making any thing con- 
siderable before he went into partnership with his father. That 
partnership had existed only two or three years, at the time of 
his father's death, and by its terms five per cent, was to be paid 
upon the capital employed, which must have been furnished by 



115 

his father, before any division of profits, of which his share was 
to be one fourth. Although he was commonly supposed, there- 
fore, to be worth some ^50,000, or more, when I first knew him, 
I am inclined to believe, that he was really worth nothing, after 
the winding up of the affairs of Kirk Boott & Sons, second con- 
cern ; and, on the contrary, owed then a large debt to his father's 
estate, for the moneys he had improperly used and lost in that 
concern, or had permitted the other partners to draw out of it. The 
share of that loss and over-draft, which fell upon Mr. Kirk Boott, 
whatever it was, beyond his own dividend from the estate, was 
undoubtedly made good to Mr. Wright Boott, at the time and in 
the manner above-stated. That of Mr. James Boott, probably, 
never was. The shares of Merrimac stock, transferred by him, 
as above-noted, had probably been purchased out of means fur- 
nished by Mr. Wright Boott, as a payment on account of his 
dividend of the estate. 

The extent of loss which seems to be indicated by Mr. Kirk 
Boott's settlement, so far as the data arc known, and even sup- 
posing him to have largely overdrawn beyond the other partners, 
is quite sufficient to account for a reduction of the promised 
dividend of the estate, from $20,000 to $10,000. At the time 
of that settlement, Mr. Wright Boott probably intended, still, to 
distribute $20,000 to those of the heirs who had not already had 
it. Mr. Kirk Boott's letter shows, that Mr. Wright Boott's object, 
in urging him to a settlement, was, because " he was preparing 
to settle the estate and pay over the balances." But, unfortu- 
nately, about that time, he was induced to enter into the specula- 
tion of the Iron Foundry, which called for money too fast to 
permit him to make the distribution, without encroaching too 
manifestly upon the trust fund, which he no doubt always in- 
tended to keep good, and supposed he could at all events, 
ahhough he was injudicious enough to allow it to be undis- 
tinguishable from investments for himself The unexpected 
catastrophe of the iron business defeated all his expectations. I 
know, from his own statement, that in August, 1830, he had put 
into it $70,000 of capital; and I presume, before the business 
was finally wound up, his loss there, including interest, was not 
much short of $100,000. And whose loss was it, if it be true, 
that he had already lost his own property in the trade pursued 
by himself and brothers ? 

Without pretending, therefore, to have any knowledge on this 
subject, except of the facts, or rather of the evidence, above 
stated, I am obliged to infer from this evidence, until I see some- 
thing to the contrary, that the collections made by Kirk Boott 
& Sons, second concern^ during the four years of their existence, 
before the firm of Boott & Lowell began, on account of the busi- 
ness and outstanding property of Kirk Boott & Sons, first con- 



116 

cerw, nearly the whole of which belonged to the estate of Mr. 
Boott, senior, were sufficient to cover the subsequent great losses 
which seem to be plainly indicated ; and that the account exhib- 
ited by Mr. Ijowell, looking at it as a statement of results pur- 
porting to run back to the time of the testator's death, is essentially 
defective in the omission of these collections, which, if inserted, 
would show, I imagine, a large balance against Mr. Wright 
Boott, even after allowing him the whole benefit of the ficti- 
tious credit of near $275,000 for " income paid to, or for ac- 
count and by order of, the widow." 

One other portion of this account must be a subject of remark. 
After arriving, in the manner above shown, at the cash balance 
of about $96,000, for which the executor was to answer (laying 
aside the mansion house as no part of a cash account), the bal- 
ance of $25,000, claimed as due from the estate to the executor, 
is obtained, by stating the items of property, then held by the ex- 
ecutor, as follows : 
" 39 shares in the Boston Manufacturing Co., of 

which 18 shares cost $1,150 each, $20,700 

21 shares, cost $1,300 each, - - 27,300 



$48,000 

71 shares in the Merrimac Manufacturing Co. cost 71,000 

Stable in Bowdoin Street, deeded to executor by 
J. W. Boott, in 1831, 2,500 



$121,500 



The difTerence, between this sum and the cash balance of about 
$96,000 of capital undistributed, constitutes the $25,000, and up- 
wards, claimed to be due to Mr. Wright Boott, and also, by a 
curious coincidence, constitutes, almost exactly, the balance due 
from Mr. Wright Boott to Mr. Lowell. That is, the account 
alleges, in effect, that, by reason of cash payments to the heirs, 
beyond what was due to them, by $25,000, that amount of the 
property, invested and held by Mr. Wright Boott as executor, 
belongs to him personally. It has been already shown, that, of 
this property, twenty-five shares in the Merrimac Manufacturing 
Company, and twenty-five in the Boston Manufacturing Com- 
pany, which, estimating the Merrimac at cost, as charged, and the 
Boston at an average of the two prices given, amounted to 
over $55,000, or nearly half the property mentioned, had 
stood pledged to Mr. Lowell himself, as trustee, — the greater 
part of it for more than seventeen years, and the residue for 
nearly fifteen years, — and that twenty-one shares more of the 
Merrimac, afterwards transferred to him from Mr. Sturgis, had 
stood pledged to him in like manner for about ten years, — 
making, at the prices fixed by the account. $76,000 of the whole 



117 

property, — as security for the personal debts of Mr. Wright 
Boott, on which $25,000 yet remained due. So that, at the time 
of the preparing of this account, which was to bring the estate in 
debt to Mr. Wright Boott, about $45,000 only of the said pro- 
perty was actually under his control ; and if he had been com- 
pelled to settle the account and produce his vouchers, in that 
state of facts, supposing all the charges and credits perfectly cor- 
rect, he must have failed to show property for the cash balance 
of $96,000, by at least $50,000. To obviate this difficulty, it 
appears, by the transfer books of the two companies named, that, 
on the day of the date of the account, November 18, 1844, or 
within three days after, Mr. Lowell transferred to Mr. Wright 
Boott, as executor, the said seventy-one shares, leaving himself 
without any apparent security on his own trust. [See App. Nos. 
16, 17. J This, no doubt, was wholly unimportant as regarded 
the interest of his trust, because Mr. Lowell was not only able, 
but undoubtedly would have chosen, 1o make good himself 
any loss that might have arisen from his voluntary relinquish- 
ment of a particular security, if the account should not be 



I remark upon it only to show how far his feelings had be- 
come enlisted in the desire of bringing out right his friend and 
former partner, for whom he was acting in this matter as well as 
for himself; for although he knew, in 1831, that the shares pledg- 
ed to him as trustee could not in equity be regarded as the prop- 
erty of Mr. Wright Boott, he undoubtedly supposed they were 
at the time he made the loan on that security, and therefore, ex- 
cept for some peculiar circumstances, would never have agreed 
to relinquish them freely, without a safe substitute. If he really 
considered that the account exhibited the true state of the case, 
why should he not have retained, against his own debt, $25,000 
worth of the property in his hands, which, in that case, must have 
been Mr. Boott's own, and restored him only so much as was 
needful to make good the $96,000 of cash capital, being all that 
truly belonged to the estate ? That would have exactly squared 
the executor's account, if its items were correct, and would also 
have exactly squared Mr. Lowell's personal account. But in 
lieu of that, the account is stated in a form which presents the 
seeming absurdity of an executor's investing, as executor, $25,000 
more than he had, as executor, to invest ; and virtually makes the 
personal debt of Mr. Wright Boott to Mr. Lowell a charge upon 
the whole estate, instead of being a charge upon certain particu- 
lar property, which, on the principle of the account, did not in 
equity belong to the estate, but to Mr. Wright Boott himself. 
For it should be observed, that, although Mr. Lowell gave up all 
the shares he held, he ran no real risk of his debt, provided the 
account zoere passed in that form ; for he held at the time, as 



118 

agent for Mr. Wright Boott, the note of Wm. Lawrence, Esq., 
for the purchase money of the mansion house, which was 
$46,000, payable on delivery of the requisite deeds ; and as set- 
tlement of accounts and appointment of a new trustee were all 
the heirs insisted on, the delivery of deeds, when those events 
happened, was sure to place in his own hands a cash fund, out of 
which his debt would be paid. The balance, which, according 
to the account, was due from the estate to Mr. Boott, was as 
much a charge upon the mansion house and its proceeds as it 
was upon the shares ; and since those proceeds would pass 
through Mr. Lowell's hands, he being the holder of the note, he 
would have the means of paying himself But he took the risk 
that the account, in that form, should be passed; and it ivas pass- 
ed, by the assent of the heirs, upon the agreement of compromise 
described in the letter of Judge Warren before referred to, Mr. 
Wright Boott resigning, and Charles G. Loring, Esq. being ap- 
pointed trustee; and the inventory of the new trustee, filed in 
the Probate office, shows, that the balance, which the account 
stated as due to the executor, was in fact charged upon and 
taken out of the proceeds of the mansion house, in the manner 
above suggested. [See App. No. 36.] 

It is next to be remarked, that, in order to make out the full 
balance of $25,000, apparently due from the estate to Mr. Wright 
Boott, it was necessary, that the shares of the Boston Manufac- 
turing Company should stand at about $20,000 more than they 
were really worth, at their market price, then about $725 per 
share. It is true, that the Merrimac shares, then worth (as ap- 
pears by the inventory of C. G. Loring, Esq.) about twenty- 
eight per cent, advance on their par value, are charged at nearly 
as much less. But the manner in which this must have been 
arrived at, shows the want of reality in the account. Mr. Wright 
Boott was an original subscriber, in 1822, to fifty-six shares of 
the Merrimac Manufacturing Company. In 1824, he subscribed 
and paid for forty more shares of the new stock then created. 
He at that time held ninety-six of these shares, purchased at par, 
all in his own name. He was also an original subscriber, in 
1820, to thirty shares of the second issue of stock in the Boston 
Manufacturing Company, which the company sold to new sub- 
scribers at $1,150 per share, the nominal par being $1000. He 
purchased, in 1822, six more shares, at the market price of the 
day, whatever that was. All these shares, fully paid for, stood 
in his own name, in the early part of 1824, having cost him 
nearly $140,000. Of Merrimac he never purchased afterwards, 
excepting the five shares transferred to him by Mr. James Boott, 
in settlement of an account, as before noticed. He sold from 
time to time, and undoubtedly at an advance, from the dates of the 
sales, so as to have reduced his whole number, in 1826, to seven- 



119 

ty-two shares, all unpledged. Of the thirty-six shares of the 
Boston Manufacturing Company, which he held from 1822 to 
1824, he sold, from time to lime, before March, 1826, fourteen; 
and in March, 1826, he purchased from Mr. Kirk Boott, in the 
settlement with him before mentioned, twenty-one shares. Some 
of these several stocks he transferred to his guardianship ac- 
count, so as to reduce the number to seventy-one of the Merri- 
mac and thirty-nine of the Boston, as stated in the account ; and 
there were, from 1826 to 1830, several transfers in pledge for 
money borrowed, but no sales except as above mentioned. 

These facts appear from the transfer books of the companies. 
[See App. Nos. 16, 17.] In respect to the Merrimac, as he had at 
no time sold so many of his original number as not to leave 
seventy-one, or more, of the first subscription, subject only to 
such pledges as he made for moneys borrowed, there was no 
pretence, of course, for charging them to the estate at more than 
their' original cost. But his thirty-nine shares in the Boston 
Manufacturing Company were not the remainder of an original 
subscription, which was only for thirty ; he had bought six two 
years after, and he had bought twenty-one six years after, when 
prices were high. Mr. Lowell, therefore, charges in the account 
twenty-one of these shares, which, from the correspondence of 
number, must refer to those purchased from Mr. Kirk Boott, at 
$1,300 ; and the remaining eighteen he charges at the price of 
the original subscription. But with whose funds were the 
thirty originally bought in 1820, and the six in 1822 ? Why 
should the whole tiventy-one which were purchased in 1826 be 
placed to the account of the estate at $1,300, and the remain- 
ing eighteen only be placed there at the cost of the original sub- 
scription, when thirty &\\2iXe?> were purchased at their cost? If 
the subscriptions, both in this and the Merrimac Company, were 
considered to be for the account of the estate, though in the 
name of Mr. Wright Boott individually, why should not the 
estate have the benefit of the low cost for the one stock as well 
as the other? And in that view, since there were sales of up- 
wards of thirty shares in the two companies at high prices, why 
should not the estate have the benefit of the profit on those sales, 
as well as be charged with the cost of purchases at high prices ? 
One answer is, that it would have been impossible, in that form 
of stating the account, the other items remaining as they are, 
to have made out an apparent balance of $25,000 due to the 
executor. But if it is true, as the fact now appears, that Mr. 
Wright Boott, at the time of these speculations, had really no 
property of his own, it is impossible to say, that a portion of his 
subscriptions and purchases was for himself, and the residue 
for the estate, all being equally in his own name. If the pur- 
chases were as executor, then the sales were as executor also. 



120 

and he should be charged with the profits. If they were not, and 
it was merely his own speculation, though with funds of the 
estate, still he must answer for the profits which he made with 
those funds, and cannot be allowed to charge against them his 
losses. All that he gained, on the Merrimac stock, he gained for 
the estate, and all that he lost, by the depreciation of the Boston 
stock, he lost for himself, and had no right to charge upon the 
estate by placing it at its original cost. If this principle is cor- 
rect, $20,000 of his supposed balance is at once swept away. 

Among the causes, it should be remembered, which went to 
bring down the saleable value of shares in the Boston Manufac- 
turing Company from $1,300, in 1826, to $725, at the date of the 
rendition of this account, was the fact, that the company had sold 
oif a part of its fixed property, and divided the proceeds, which 
was a real reduction of capital. Yet this dividend, which really 
represented capital, stands nowhere in the account, unless it was 
treated as income, and included in the credit of near $275,000 
paid " to, or for account and by order of, the widow." 

The credit of $2,500 for a "stable in Bowdoin street, 
deeded to executor by J. W. Boott, in 1831," suggests another 
fact, known to me, and capable of proof, concerning his use of 
the trust property. He wanted this stable, in 1825, for his 
own accommodation. It belonged to a house owned by Mr. De- 
hon. To get the stable he purchased the whole estate at $10,000, 
and immediately resold the house without the stable at $7,500, 
which left him the stable at $2,500, — which was $1000 more 
than it was worth. All this was in his own name, and the stable 
was deeded to him at that nominal consideration. It was, of 
course, bought with the funds of the estate. In 1831, in fear of 
attachments, he made a deed of it from himself to himself as ex- 
ecutor, having the effect perhaps of a declaration of trust. But 
the estate never derived any benefit from the purchase, while it 
was in his hands; and it eventually produced $1,500 only — so 
that the estate lost by the transaction $1000 of principal, and 
interest on $2,500 for a period of near twenty years, equivalent, 
at simple interest, to a farther loss of about $3,000, not covered 
by the account. 

But, if this account were corrected in the various particulars 
which have now been pointed out, or rather, if a true account 
were stated of all the stocks and moneys which had come to 
the executor, through the several firms with which he was con- 
nected, or otherwise, charging him with the profits and exclud- 
ing the losses, or excluding both, and charging him with com- 
pound interest on the principal sums employed for his own use 
(in one or the other of which modes such an account would be 
settled, I presume, by a court of equity), w^hat would become of 
the supposed balance of $25,000 due to the executor? 



121 

I have now brought down my narrative to the time of the 
agreement by which this account was accepted as the basis of a 
settlement among all parties interested. An account was under- 
stood to be a needful step in April or May. It had been called 
for by Mr. Wm. Boott in June. The necessary papers from 
London to effect a settlement must have been received here soon 
after. But the account was not presented till after November 18, 
1844. From a mere view of the account, it is apparent that this 
delay did not arise from the difficulty of making it. I have reason 
to believe, that it was in fact drawn up by Mr. Lowell soon after 
it became known, that, without a change in the trusteeship, which 
involved a settlement of accounts, the bargain he had made for 
a sale of the mansion house could not be completed, from the 
want of confirmatory deeds by some of the heirs. Why then 
was it not sooner presented? Mr. Lowell himself has state 1 the 
reason. It was simply because Mr. Wright Boott would not sign 
it. For nearly six months he positively refused to sign that, or 
any other account luhich represented himself to he a creditor of 
the estate. This I state as coming directly from Mr. Lowell 
himself to me ; and, except as to the length of time during which 
the refusal continued, I state it, also, on the authority of Mr. 
Franklin Dexter and Mr. Wm. Boott, as coming directly from 
Mr. Lowell to them, — though it is due to Mr. Lowell to add, 
that the fact was mentioned by him only as proof of Mr. Wright 
Boott's disinterestedness of character, — a trait which I do not 
question. What finally induced Mr. Wright Boott to adopt the 
account, I am not informed; but my belief is, that he never 
would have signed and sworn to it, if he had been in his right 
mind, after having, again and again, admitted the fact of his in- 
debtedness to the estate. 

The agreement, by which the account was to be passed on his 
resignation and the appointment of a new trustee, occurred early 
in December. The release executed by myself and Mrs. Brooks 
and Mr. Wm. Boott, is dated December 9th. [App. No. 30.] 
Some forms of proceeding in the Probate office prevented the 
completion of the arrangement till December 23d — on which 
day C. G. Loring, Esq. was appointed trustee, and Mr. Wright 
Boott, at the same time, presented and passed, no one object- 
ing, a third account, charging himself with the proper additions 
to his former account, namely, a gain by sale of the mansion 

house at $46,000 

which stood in his former account at the original ap- 
praisal of 24,000 

making an addition of $22,000 

and also with a dividend received from the Merrimac 
Manufacturing Company, since the ISth of Nov. - 7,100 

16 $29,100 



122 

In this third account, (for which see App. No. 35,) he is al- 
lowed for the stocks mentioned in his second account, and for 
Mr. Lawrence's note of $46,000 given for the house, as handed 
over by him to his successor in the trust, subject to the balance 
of $25,000 due to him according to the second account. The 
Merrimac dividend is left in his hands as income belonging to 
the widow, and therefore payable to her and not to the new 
trustee. 

Mr. Loring thereupon returns his inventory of the trust prop- 
erty which had come to his hands, consisting of 
The stable in Bowdoin street, appraised at - - $1,500.00 
39 shares of the Boston Manufacturing Company, at 

$725 per share, 28,275.00 

71 shares of the Merrimac Manufacturing Company, 

at $1,280 per share, 90,880.00 

The note of Mr. Lawrence, payable on delivery of 

the confirmatory deeds, - - $46,000.00 

"q/" vMch sum $25,215.45 belongs to 

John W. Boott, Esq., executor, being 

balance in his favor per account settled, 25,215.45 " 



20,784.55 
" Cash received from John W. Boott," - - 4,560.45 

Total, $146,000.00 

(See the Inventory, App. No. 36.) 

By this it will be perceived, that the account of the new trustee 
is composed of the proceeds of the sale of the house, and of 
property, besides, amounting to precisely $100,000, so as to cover 
the trust of the will for Mrs. Boott, and "that this sum of $100,000 
is made up by the cash payment, from Mr. J. W. Boott, of 
$4,560.45, which sum he was enabled to pay, apparently, out of 
the fictitious balance presented against the estate now realized 
from the proceeds of the sale of the house. But, as that balance 
was all needed to pay his debt of $25,000 to Mr. Lowell, the 
cash payment of $4,560.45 was undoubtedly a new appropriation 
of income ($7,100 from the Merrimac dividend having been left 
in his hands) " to, or for account and by order of, the widow." 
The trust fund for the widow being thus made good out of her 
own income, the account finally stands defective only in the 
$11,000, which, with its accumulation since the decease of his 
aunts, ought to have been in Mr. Wright Boott's hands, for dis- 
tribution at, or before, his mother's decease, unless it had really 
been, as Mr. Lowell's account pretends, already distributed. 

This mode of settlement was not according to the just expect- 
ation and understanding of Mr. Wm. Bootl and myself. It was 
converting $4,500 of Mrs. Boott's own money ^ being a dividend 
on stocks constituting part of the trust fund, already collected 
and due to her, into a new capital belonging not to her, but to 



123 

her children, subject to her right for life to the interest upon its 
investment by the new trustee. Our intention was, that, what- 
soever was in Mr. Wright Boott's hands, belonging to his mother, 
should be paid to her, and that the capital remaining for the 
heirs, including ourselves, should stand as it actually was, 
whether more or less. We, therefore, on learning from Mr. 
Lowell how this matter had been adjusted, addressed a joint 
note to the new trustee, stating our disappointment, and request- 
ing him to consider that dividend as income, and to pay it as 
such, to Mrs. Boott. [See App. No. 41.] Whether this has 
been done or not, we have not been informed ; but I infer other- 
wise from the fact, that a new paper, designed apparently to 
ratify the actual settlement, seems to have been sent out to lion- 
don, I presume by Mr. Lowell, immediately after the settlement 
was completed, and to have been signed there Feb. 1, 1S45, by 
Mrs. Boott, Dr. Francis Boott, and Mr. James Boott. [See App. 
No. 40.] 

It will, of course, be understood, that the foregoing statements, 
concerning the accounts and the mode of their adjustment, are 
not made from any desire to undo what has been done, nor with 
reference to any pecuniary interests involved affecting myself. 
Well knowing, substantially, the true state of the case, I freely 
released, Mrs. Brooks consenting, all our claims on the executor 
in 1833, and we released them over again in 1844. There is 
no pecuniary interest, therefore, in the question. But in the next 
place, I desire to have it understood, that I make no great com- 
plaint of Mr. Lowell for the manner in which the principal ac- 
count is stated. He had no materials from which he could easily 
have made a better one. Mr. Wright Boott had kept no ac- 
counts for years, and ordinarily kept no vouchers. The little 
items of Probate fees, &c. in 1817 and 1818, are no doubt taken, 
either from the office copies of the Probate papers in Mr. Wright 
Boott's possession, or from some old cash book, or memorandum 
book, which he may have kept at that early period. The small 
matters of gain and loss on the stocks, purchased in 1818, may 
have appeared, either from some old memorandum of his, or in 
the books of Boott & Lowell, through whom the sales may have 
been made. They do not seem, at any rate, to be correctly stat- 
ed, — for there is a small error apparent on the face of the 
figures. How all the important items were got at is apparent 
enough. The receipt from myself for $10,000, and perhaps 
similar receipts from some others of the heirs — the Probate ac- 
count of 1818 — the books of Boott & Lowell — and the books 
of the Merrimac Manufacturing Company, and of the Boston 
Manufacturing Company, — furnish the whole of them. And 
these materials were well enough for a conjectural account — 
which was all the case admitted of, — as the basis of an amicable 
settlement by compromise. The little matters of Probate fees, 



124 

and gains and losses on the stocks named in the account of 1818, 
served to give an appearance of reality, sufficient for a plausible 
statement to stand on the records of the Probate office. It 
might satisfy curious persons who were unacquainted with the 
facts. Nor do I think it greatly objectionable, that the account 
should have been (though unnecessarily) so stated as to pre- 
sent the aspect of a cash advance, by the executor, of $25,000 
beyond his receipts, considering that the stocks, held by Mr. 
Lowell as security for the money due to him, stood of record, 
since 1831, as a conveyance by Mr. Wright Boott, in the capacity 
of executor, to Mr. Lowell, acting in the capacity of trustee for 
somebody, and that this form of statement went to shield his 
friend and former partner, in whom he felt a strong interest, and 
lor whom he was acting in this business, from ostensible mis- 
conduct in his trust, apparent on the public records. 

But that of which I do complain, and which I confess myself 
astonished at, knowing as I do what facts were known to Mr. 
Lowell, aside from mere figures, is the use which he has thought 
proper to make of this account, in vindication of his friend, at the 
expense of myself and others, whom he charges with misconduct, 
on the basis of this same account, as if it were a real exposition 
of Mr. Wright Boott's good management of the estate, and 
proof oi the injustice and unreasonableness of those who thought 
he had mismanaged it, and was unlit for a trustee. If all the 
statements of that paper were true, and fully exhibited the sum 
total of property which the executor had ever received to account 
for, what answer is it to Xhefacis known both to Mr. Lowell and 
myself, respecting his habitual misuse of that property, for his own 
private purposes, and in aid of hazardous speculations, which, at 
one time, threatened its total absorption, and constantly kept him, 
up to the moment of the rendition of the account, in a state of 
inability to hand over the admitted balance, if called for, or the 
stocks which represented it ? What answer is it to me, who have 
heard Mr. Lowell himself declare, as I did, not long after this 
settlement was concluded, " that he never said, nor ever thought, 
that Mr. Wright Boott was a proper man to have the care of the 
estate, — that it was a miracle that any thing was left, — that not a 
single provision of his father's will had been complied with, — and 
that the property, in good hands, would have been three or four 
times what it was ? " What answer was it, especially, to the ob- 
jection of those individuals, myself among them, who believed, 
as Mr. Lowell had reason to know (though no such fact was 
disclosed by him to the jury), that Mr. Wright Boott was at this 
time an insane man? 

Several matters of detail connected with this settlement require 
to be noticed. The first of 4hem is a very extraordinary pro- 
ceeding, as it strikes me, on the part of Mr. Lowell, which I have 
only recently discovered, in collecting the documents for this 



125 

statement. I refer to his use of my name, in signing a certain 
paper, not only without any authority from me, but with express 
notice of my dissent. 

I have already mentioned, that a part of the agreement under 
which Mr. Wright Boott's account was passed, without question, 
in the Probate Court, was, that Mr. William Boott, Mrs. Brooks, 
and myself, should enter into a general release of whatsoever 
claims we might respectively have on him, as executor or trustee. 
With that view a paper was prepared by counsel, dated Decem- 
ber 9, 1844, whereby " We, the parties executing this instrument, 
heirs at law, and representing heirs at law, of Kirk Boott, late of 
Boston," &c., "in consideration of one doUar^'' &c., "remise, 
release, and discharge him, the said John W. Boott, his heirs," 
&c., " from all claims and demands, of whatsoever name and 
description, which we, or either of us, ever had, now have, or 
may hereafter have, against him, the said John W. Boott, as 
executor of the last will and testament of the said Kirk Boott, or 
as trustee under any of the provisions of said will." This paper, 
it will be seen by the Appendix, (No. 30,) purports to have been 
signed, sealed, and delivered, in the presence of Hugh Matheivs, 
first by myself and' wife, then by Mrs. Wells, Mr. William Boott, 
and Mr. Wells, and lastly by "J. A. Lowell, for himself and 
Edward Brooks, trustees vender the ivill of Kirk Boott'' — mean- 
ing the late Mr. Kirk Boott, of Lowell, for whose family Mr. 
Lowell and myself were joint trustees. 

Nov/ my agreement, in this matter, extended no farther than 
to the release of any personal claims of Mrs. Brooks and myself. 
I positively refused to be instrumental, as trustee for others, in 
releasing, for a nominal consideration, any claims which might 
justly belong to them ; preferring, if that were insisted on, to 
resign my trust, and leave the settlement of such a question to 
the discretion of my successor, of which Mr. Lowell had distinct 
notice. , 

The circumstances attending the execution of the paper in 
question, so far as known to me, were these. It was brought to 
me about the time of its date, and before it had been signed 
by anybody. It was thereupon executed by myself and Mrs. 
Brooks, at my own house. Hugh Matheivs was, at that time, a 
servant in my family, and was called in to witness our signa- 
tures, which he did. He signed his name as a witness, in the 
proper place, but the precaution of specifying whose particular 
signatures he witnessed was neglected. The paper then passed 
out of my hands, and I never saw it afterwards. At what times, 
and in whose presence, it was signed by the other parties, I am 
not informed — certainly not in the presence of Hugh Mathews. 
I delivered it, signed by myself and wife only, and witnessed by 
said Mathews, to Mr. William Boott, who probably signed it 



126 

afterwards, without any witness, and delivered it either to Mr. 
Lowell, or to one of the counsel in the case. Mr. and Mrs. 
Wells were at Cambridge. They were never called upon by 
ine, nor, as I am informed, by Mr. William Boott ; and Hugh 
Mathews had nothing farther to do with the matter. Mr. Lovi^ell, 
no doubt, obtained their signatures, and afterwards signed the 
paper himself, in the form above staled. 

I have also mentioned above, that it was part of the agree- 
ment, that confirmatory deeds of the mansion, house, satisfactory 
to Mr. Bowditch, as counsel for the purchaser, were to be exe- 
cuted. Accordingly, a few days after the paper above-mentioned 
had been returned to Mr. Lowell, a draft of a deed of the man- 
sion house to Mr. William Lawrence, intended to be signed by 
Mr. and Mrs. Wells, myself and wife, and Mr. William Boott, 
was sent or delivered to me by Mr. Lowell. That deed was 
already executed, I believe, by IMr. and Mrs. Wells. At any 
rate, it appears by the certificates of acknowledgment, that it was 
executed by all the parties above-named, on the 16lh of Decem- 
ber — by Mr. and Mrs. Wells, in the presence of Mr. Lowell, 
who witnessed their signatures ; and on the same day, by Mr. 
William Boott, Mrs. Brooks, and myself, in the presence of" Mr. 
P. C. Brooks, who witnessed our signatures. 

On the following morning, December 17, I returned that deed 
so executed, to Mr. Lowell, with the following letter, intended 
to prevent any possible misapprehension of my intentions, already 
verbally made known to him, not to release any claims in my 
capacity of trustee. 

"December 17, 1844. 
"My Dear Sir, 

I send you the deed executed, as you requested. You spoke 
to me of another deed^ or paper, to be sighted by you and myself, 
as trustees, under the will of our late friend, Kirk Boott, of 
Lowell. 

It is my intention immediately to resign that trust, and I 
should much prefer that the deed should be signed by the new 
trustee, or by yourself alone. 

The steps taken by myself and my wife, in this matter, have 
been based on the idea of a compromise for the sake of peace. 

As a trustee, particularly where there is a variance between 
the cestui que trusts and the trustee, I am very differently situated. 

I am not prepared to sa}"", that, on a full, fair, and just state- 
ment of accounts, the executor is entitled to claim a balance of 
$25,000. 

In my own case, I have a right to waive any claim I may be 
supposed to have. Not so as trustee. 

Presuming that you have no doubt as to the equity of the 



127 

claim made by the executor, you can sign the deed without 
scruple. 

I shall send in ray resignation of the trust to-day or to-mor- 
row, and as this will make a settlement of accounts necessary, I 
shall rely on you to have it in readiness for the next probate day. 
Yours, very truly, 

Edward Brooks." 
"J. A. Lowell, Esq." 

This letter, it will be observed, was a distinct notice to Mr. 
Lowell, of the fact which Judge Warren states in his letter to 
me, that the assent to the passing of the account exhibited was, 
on my part^ by way of cornprornise merely, and not because I 
believed, or intended to admit, the balance claimed, to be a bal- 
ance justly due. And yet I w^as not at that time aware, that the 
account presented had been made up by Mr. Loivell himself, 
and that Mr. Wright Boott had, for a long time, positively 
refused to adopt it ; which fact I subsequently learnt, as above 
slated. 

It was also distinct notice that I could not, and should not, 
consent to be a party to any such waiver of claim, in my capacity 
of trustee., and that my intention then was immediately to re- 
sign my trust ; which intention I was afterwards induced to 
alter, as will presently appear. 

It will also be noticed, that a variance between myself and 
some of the cestui que trusts, is alluded to. That variance con- 
sisted only in a difference of views as to the grounds on which 
I had proceeded, in bringing about the arrangement by w^iich 
the property in Mr. Wright Boott's hands was to be transferred 
to a new trustee. Mrs. K. Boott, it will presently be seen, had 
sided against me in the matter, but with no information of the 
facts, material for a correct judgment, except such as was derived 
from Mr. Lowell. What that information was, will presently 
appear. The fact was not known to me at the time of the writ- 
ing of this letter. 

Finally, it is apparent, that I had no idea, at the time of the 
writing of the letter, that any release of the claims of Mr. K. 
Boott's family had been made, or attempted, by anybody. 

Soon after the sending of that letter, and on the same day, I 
had an interview with Mr. Lowell, at which he presented a draft 
of a deed, prepared for himself and myself to sign, as trustees. 
A short conversation then occurred on the subject of my letter. 
I repeated my determination not to sign any paper, releasing 
claims in behalf of Mrs. K. Boott, and her family ; to which Mr. 
Lowell replied that it ivoidd not be necessary — meaning, as I 
understood, that no such release was demanded ; and upon 
examining the deed which I was requested to sign, I found it to 



128 

be a simple quit-claim, to Mr. William Lawrence, of any right 
or title we might hold, as trustees, in the mansion house estate, 
without any release, express or implied, of claims on the execu- 
tor. I saw no objection to executing that, as the sale was an 
advantageous one, and the proceeds, according to the arrange- 
ment made, were to pass into the hands of a new trustee, who 
was entirely satisfactory to me. Accordingly, this deed was 
executed by Mr. Lowell and myself jointly, on the 17th of De- 
cember, (as appears by the certificate of acknowledgment,) in the 
presence of two witnesses. Understanding, thus, from Mr. 
Lowell, that I was not expected, as trustee, to join in any release 
of claims on the executor, and finding that the deed which Mr. 
Lowell had spoken of contained nothing of the sort, I was 
induced, on reflection, to alter my determination of resigning the 
trust, considering that it was a personal confidence reposed in 
me by a friend, for the benefit of his family, which I ought not 
to disappoint, or surrender, from light considerations ; and 1 was, 
besides, led to believe, that Mr. Lowell himself was rather desir- 
ous I should not resign. I accordingly gave him notice, soon 
after, that he need not trouble himself to prepare the account of 
our joint trusteeship, as requested, since I did not intend, at pre- 
sent, to resign. 

I heard no more from Mr. Lowell, on the subject of releasing 
claims. He never intimated to me that he had executed, or 
intended to execute, any such release ; still less that my name 
had been, or was to be, used in any way for such a purpose. 
Judge, then, my surprise, when, upon seeing an attested copy 
from the Probate Records, in July, 1847, of the general release 
of December 9, 1844, which I had signed on my individual 
account only, and had refused to sign as trustee, I discovered, 
for the first time, that Mr. Lowell had actually signed that paper, 
and not for himself alone, as one of the trustees, but expressly 
" for himself and Edward Brooks^ trustees under the will of Kirk 
Boott ;" and that this signature, as well as the signatures of Mr. 
and Mrs. Wells, and Mr. William Boott, stood, apparently, wit- 
nessed by my own servant, Hugh Mathews, (who had witnessed 
the signatures of Mrs. Brooks and myself alone,) as if it were all 
one act, done at one time, and in the presence of one witness, and 
of course with my full knowledge and assent. The effect of such 
a signature, under such circumstances, I leave for others to settle 
— noting, by the way, that it appears to have been unaccom- 
panied by a seal. At least it appears by the record, (the original 
paper having been withdrawn from the Probate Office, I have 
not been able to see that,) that six persons had signed the release, 
but that five seals only are affixed.* But whatever the effect may 

* In the Appendix, the printed copy, by mistake, has the sixth seal added, the printer 
supposing its omission to be a mistake in the copy. But the copy conforms to the Pro- 
bate Record, which particularly specifies that there are but five seals. See App. No. 30. 



129 

be, it seems that Mr. Lowell intended to release those claims, 
and assumed to act in my behalf, and to use mij name as assent- 
ing- to the act, not only without my authority, but without my 
knowledge, and notwithstanding I had positively refused to be 
implicated as a trustee, in any such voluntary release of the rights 
of others, and had given him distinct notice of that determination. 
Immediately upon the discovery of this assumption, I addressed 
to Mr. Lowell the note of July S, 1847, (App. No. 56,) calling 
for explanation, to which he has not thought proper to return any 
answer. 

Soon after the settlement above mentioned, a short correspond- 
ence occurred between Mr. Lowell and myself, on another sub- 
ject, which it may be proper here to refer to. Among the 
conversations which took place, about that time, was one between 
Mr. Lowell and Mr. Wm. Boott, in which the former undertook to 
assert, that I had formerly considered Mr. Wright Boott perfectly 
justifiable in having used the property of the family in the hazard- 
ous speculation of the Mill Dam Foundry ; and that a letter from 
the late Mr. Kirk Boott, was in existence, which authorized the 
assertion. When this was reported to me, apprehending that 
the same representation might be made by Mr. Lowell to others, 
when occasion might, in his opinion, seem to call for it, and well 
knowing that it must be founded on some mistake, either of the 
late Mr. Kirk Boott, or of Mr. Lowell, I addressed a note to the 
latter gentleman^ stating the information I had received, and re- 
questing to seethe letter alluded to. (See App. No. 39.) To this 
I received a prompt answer, admitting the correctness of my 
information, and repeating the assertion, with a slight qualifica- 
tion, in the following terras. 

"Dear Sir: 

My statement to Mr. William Boott was, that I had seen a 
letter from Mr. Kirk Boott, of Lowell, in which he says, in sub- 
stance, that, at a meeting between himself, and yourself, and one 
or two other persons, it was agreed, with your assent, that Mr. 
J. W. Boott was justified in using some portion of the funds in 
his hands, as executor, in business at the Mill Dam Foundry. 

That letter never was, except for a few hours, in my posses- 
sion, and I took no copy of. it. I will try to procure a copy of 
it, or the original, for your inspection. 

Yours, very truly, 

J. A. Lowell." 

"Jan. 31, 1845." 

Not long after I received a second note from Mr. Lowell, as 
follows. 

17 



130 

"Boston, Jan. 31, 1845. 
Dear Sir :^ 

The following is an extract from a letter from Kirk Boott, 
Esq., of Lowell. 

" Sunday evening. 
My Dear Wright : 

I intended to have had some conversation with you before 
my return home, but was too jaded, last evening, to attempt it. 

After leaving you, yesterday morning, I went to E. B.'s 
office, where Ralston soon after joined us. 

They both exonerate you from any selfish views in the man- 
agement of the property, and admitting your undeviating econ- 
omy, consider you have sacrificed yourself to the desire of help- 
ing others. 

By the provisions of the will, you were authorized to use the 
estate in business — and while there is not, on any side, a shadow 
of suspicion that you have heedlessly squandered it, there can 
be no imputation on your honor or integrity, though it be in your 
hands greatly diminished. But this will not apply to F.'s child- 
ren. We are, therefore, of opinion, that they must be paid in 
full, at all events, and effected as soon as possible." 

This is all the letter contains on this subject. You will re- 
member, that by a settlement afterwards made with Lyman & 
Ralston, Mr. Boott was exonerated from all the debts of the Mill 
Dam Foundry, and of course the fund was not diminished, as 
Mr. K. Boott seems to have feared it might be. 

Mr. Robert Ralston, in a note on the same subject, says : ' I 
can most fully confirm the statement in Kirk's note. No one, at 
that time, or during the whole negotiation subsequent thereto, 
ever impeached your honor or integrity, or doubted, that by your 
father's will, you were at full liberty to employ the capital in 
your hands in business. I well remember, that it v^^as the opin- 
ion of Mr. Brooks, your brother Kirk, and myself, that you had 
acted always in a most disinterested manner, sacrificing yourself 
for others.' 

I am yours, very truly, 

J. A. Lowell." 

This letter of Mr. Lowell's deserves a word of comment. In 
the first place, it will be seen, that the extract he makes from Mr. 
Kirk Boott's letter, and which he says is "all the letter contains 
on this subject," entirely fails to bear out his assertion, that it 
was agreed, in my presence, and with my assent, " that Mr. J. W. 
Boott was justified in using some portion of the funds in his 
hands, as executor, in business at the Mill Dam Fovndry." The 
persons present, at the meeting of which Mr. Kirk Boott speaks, 



131 

were himself, and Mr. Ralston, and myself; and in reference to 
what passed, his statement is, that "they both" (meaning Mr. Rals- 
ton and myself), "exonerate you from any seljish views in the man- 
agement of the properly, and admitting your vndevialAng exonnmy, 
consider you have sacrificed yourself to the desire of he/ping' 
oihersP This is all Mr. Kirk Boott states to have been either 
asserted, or admitted, or assented to, by me. The question, 
whether Mr. Wright Boott was justified, or not, in using the 
family property in the Iron Foundry, does not appear to have 
been touched in that conversation. What follows, is an expres- 
sion of Mr. Kirk Boott's individual opinion, writing privately to 
his brother, and does not purport to be an account of anything 
said by me, or by some one else, in my presence, and assented 
to by me. But having first reported the substance of our con- 
versation, he then goes on to say, for himself, — " by the provi- 
sions of the will, yoa were authorized to use the estate in busi- 
ness." This, to some extent, was literally true ; it was true as 
applied to a loan of a portion of the funds of the estate, to a firm 
which should undertake to carry on the business of Kirk Boott Sf 
Sons ; and Mr. K. Boott is careful not to extend his remark to 
the specific business of the Mill Dam Foundry. If he meant to 
be understood, that, in his opinion, his brother was authorized, 
by the ivill, to use the estate in that business, or, indeed, in any 
business except the business of Kirk Boott & Sons, it was a very 
plain mistake, as the will shows. But he, in truth, expresses no 
such opinion ; still less does he pretend that I had expressed, or 
assented to, any such. 

Mr. Ralston's note adds nothing material ; its object is to 
confirm Mr. K. Boott's statement — and he says to Mr. Wright 
Boott — "No one ever impeached your honor, or integrity^ or 
doubted that, by your father's will, you were at full liberty 
to employ the capital, in your hands, in business ; " which 
is a statement just as indefinite as that of Mr. K. Boott — nor 
does Mr. Ralston pretend to say that /had expressed any opin- 
ion, even to that indefinite extent. On the contrary, his intima- 
tion is otherwise, when he goes on to state what opinion I did 
express, or assent to, in the following sentence. " I well remem- 
ber that it was the opinion of Mr. Brooks, your brother Kirk, and 
myself, that you had acted always in a most disinterested man- 
ner, sacrificing yourself for others." Now, in respect to Mr. 
Wright Boott's disinterestedness of character, and freedom from 
selfish views in his use of the family property, and in respect to 
his integrity and high sentiments of honor, I have never had but 
one deliberate opinion. That commendation I have frequently 
bestowed upon him; and although the phrase oi '•^ sacrificing 
yourself for others," or " to the desire of helping others," is "some- 
what stronger language than I should myself have been likely to 



132 

use, yet, if used, at that time, by others, in my hearing, I should, 
probably, not have thought myself called upon to dissent from it. 
Indeed, upon the retrospect, in the foregoing pages, of the trans- 
actions of the period to which these letters relate, I have already 
taken occasion to express my conviction, founded on an intimate 
knowledge of Mr. Wright Boolt's character, that, however it 
might appear to others, all those acts of his which are complained 
of as being contrary to his duty as a trustee, and as having occa- 
sioned loss to the estate, had their origin in good and generous 
motives ; and especially in the desire of helping others with whom 
he ivas connected. His engagement in the business of the 
foundry, I attributed, and always have, mainly, to his desire to 
promote the vieivs and interests of his brothers-in-law, Messrs. 
Lyman and Ralston, and not to the desire of making money for 
himself, with funds which did not belong to him. The difficuhy 
with Mr. Wright Boott, as long ago suggested, was not that he 
was not always ready enough to sacrifice himself in what he 
considered a good cause, but that he was not careful to distin- 
guish between the hazarding of his own property and that of others, 
whose interests were committed to him, and whom he thus unin- 
tentionally sacrificed, as he did himself, without consulting them 
on the subject, or affording them any opportunity of judging for 
themselves. The opinions, therefore, which are attributed to me, 
in these letters, as opinions formerly entertained, do not appear 
to me to militate at all with those which I still entertain, and 
which I have repeatedly expressed. 

Perhaps I ought to make one exception. If the phrase of 
"undeviating economy" was used, in the conversation alluded 
to by Mr. K. Boott, as characteristic of Mr. Wright Boott, at anp 
period of his life, I think I should hardly have assented to that 
without some qualification. He was extremely inconsistent in 
that respect — at times rigidly economical about sorpe trifling 
particulars, and very profuse in expenditures of more importance. 
But, as the phrase is used in Mr. K. Booti's letter, followed by 
the remark, that "there is not, on any side, a shadow of suspi- 
cion, that you have heedlessly squandered^^ the property, it con- 
veys a general idea, from which, if expressed by another person, 
at that time, I should not have been very likely to dissent. 

But the truth is, that all the expressions, which, according to 
these letters, I may be supposed to have adopted, simply because 
I did not quarrel with them on the spot, relate to traits of char- 
acter which are quite aside from the main point of discussion 
among the family, and with Mr. Lowell, at the time of the settle- 
ment. The only substantial question then was, whether, in 
1844, he was a fit, competent, and safe manager of trust property. 
His hazarding, formerly, the funds of the estate, in the business 
of the Iron Foundry, was only one illustration that he was not. 



133 

My opinion upon that subject, in 1830, was precisely the same 
as in 1844 ; and I perfectly well know, that Mr. K. Boott's opin- 
ion substantially coincided with mine. Indeed, no rational man, 
who knew any thing of business, and was accustomed to regard 
the legal obligations of an executor and trustee, could doubt about 
it for a moment. And I see nothing in these letters to convict 
either Mr. K. Boott, or myself, of having entertained, or deliber- 
ately expressed, a contrary opinion. 

To interpret the letters fairly, it is proper to consider the ob- 
ject in view, and the circumstances under which they were writ- 
ten. We have not the date oi either of them; but it is obvious, 
from the tenor of Mr. K. Boott's letter, that it was written in the 
midst of the crisis of the affairs of the Iron Foundry, and be- 
fore it had been positively arranged, in what manner they should 
be settled, and especially what means should be taken to secure 
the fund in Mr. Wright Boott's hands, as guardian to the chil- 
dren of Mr. Francis Boot. It was written, probably, about the 
same time with some of the letters from Mr. K. Boott to me, 
which have been already referred to — and most likely soon after 
his letter of Sept. 29, 1S30, in which he quotes the language of 
his brother, that " To bear a brand of dishonor I cannot contem- 
plate v/ith composure." It is equally obvious, that Mr. Kirk 
Boott's chief object, in the letter now quoted by Mr. Lowell, 
is to soothe, as far as possible, his brother's agitated feelings 
and wounded pride, and, at the same time, to communicate 
his own opinion and mine, — that \\\s guardianship account 
must be paid, in full, at all events. Mr. Wright Boott's distressed 
situation, at that period, was a subject of commiseration among 
all the members of the family who were aware of it ; believing, 
as we all did, that he was drawn into it by mere indiscretion, and 
a desire, primarily , to assist his brothers-in-law, and that he had 
got involved, by degrees, in a bad business, more deeply than he 
had ever intended or anticipated. We all, doubtless, expressed 
our feelings strongly on this subject, and took pains to have it 
understood, that nothing in the transaction, fairly construed, 
ought, in our judgment, to be deemed an impeachment of his 
honor, or integrity of purpose. Mr. K. Boott, in writing to 
his brother, under such circumstances, would naturally use the 
strongest expressions that any conversation with Mr. Ralston and 
myself might seem to him to warrant, for the purpose of putting 
his brother, as far as possible, at ease, respecting the sentiments 
we entertained of him, and respecting his own opinion in the 
matter. With that idea, after stating that Mr. Ralston and my- 
self exonerated him from all selfish views, and considered that 
he had sacrificed himself to the desire of helping others, Mr. 
Kirk Boott thought proper to add for himself, as a farther conso- 
lation, — " By the provisions of the will, you were authorized to 



134 

use the estate in business ; and, while there is not, on any side, a 
shadow of suspicion that you have lieedlessly squandered it, 
there can be no imputation on your honor and integrity, even, 
tlionij^h it be in your hands greallij diminished!'^ 

Mr. Lowell's comment upon this is a little curious. The sen- 
tence is a pretty phiin intimation of Mr. Kirk Boott's opinion, 
that the estate had been^ by Mr. Wright. Boott's management of 
it, '■'• greatly diminished^ Mr. Lowell was desirous to avail him- 
self of Mr. Kirk Boott's opinion, that his brother was authorized to 
use the estate in business — because that comported with the view 
he was then advocating: — but, unfortunately, it was so com- 
bined, in one sentence, with the obvious opinion of Mr. Kirk 
Boott, that the estate had been greatly diminished in consequence, 
that Mr. Lowell could not use the one opinion without making 
known the other. He, therefore, adroitly, endeavors to turn this 
into a mere expression of apprehension on the part of Mr. Kirk 
Boott, wliich the event proved to be groundless. He says, 
" You will remember, that, by a settlement afterwards made with 
Lyman and Ralston, Mr. Boott was exonerated from all the debts 
of the Mill Dam Foundry, and of course the fund was not di- 
minished, as Mr. Kirk Boott seems to have feared it might beP 
I believe I do remember that settlement pretty well. I have 
already stated the substance of it ; and the reader will remember, 
that, by its terms and effect, all the capital Mr. Wright Boott 
ever put into the establishment, amoun\'wg,hy his own statement, 
in Aug. 1830, to $70,000, and amounting, with interest, to much 
more, in my judgment, before the concern was finally wound up, 
went to pay the mortgage debt o/"$30,000, incurred inrelieving him 
from certain endorsements for Lyman and Ralston. In other 
words, it was all sunk, and " of course," I should say, the fund of 
the estate, in Mr. Wright Boott's hands, was diminished, at that 
time, to a large extent. It certainly must be so considered, un- 
less Mr. Lowell can show that the $70,000, and upwards, in- 
vested there, belonged to Mr. Wright Boott himself; — and if 
Mr. Lowell supposed that to be the case, why does he endeavor 
to prove that Mr. Kirk Boott and myself thought it justifiable 
to put the funds of the estate there ? If Mr. Kirk Boott's letter 
is valuable as an expression of opinion, on that point, it is, at 
least, equally valuable to show, that it was, at that time, well un- 
derstood, by all parties, that the trust funds, held by the executor, 
had in fact been, to a greater or less extent, invested in that spec- 
ulation ; and, since it proved a total loss, the consequence seems 
to follow, that the estate was the sufferer. Indeed, the whole 
tenor of Mr. Kirk Boott's letters to me shows clearly enough, that 
the estate was understood, by all of us, to be deeply implicated in 
this unfortunate business, and that even a greater extent of ruin 
than actually occurred, was then seriously apprehended. It is 



135 

under this apprehension, that Mr. Kirk Boott says, in one of his 
letters — " My own opinion is, that J. W. Boott should, at once, 
assign all his property," (meaning all that stood in his name,) 
" first to secure Francis Boott's heirs, and, next, the estate and 
heirs of my father. The endorsements of Ralston and Lyman 
are no debts of his, and securing them a just proportion of ivhat 
he may ovje them as executor, is all, under the circumstances, they 
can claim." [App. No. 8.] And how can it be otherwise, if we 
look to the ascertained facts ? In August, 1830, Mr. Wright 
Boott states his unfortunate investment in the Iron Foundry at 
$70,000. He discloses, at the same time, a deficiency of cash 
in his guardianship account, to the amount of $20,000, and 
loans from Messrs. Sturgis and Lowell to the amount of $51,000, 
— which sums nearly correspond with his estimated investment. 
Now for what other purpose had he occasion for this large 
amount of borrowed capital? If only for the Foundry, the in- 
ference is inevitable ; for we know that the loans were effected 
by a pledge of stocks, which all parties concerned afterwards 
admitted to have been purchased with funds of the estate, by 
putting them into Mr. Wright Boott's name as executor. And 
we know that his collections from other sources were sufficient 
to pay only a small part of this debt of $71,000 ; and that the 
whole residue, with large accumulations of interest, could only 
have been paid out of the income derived from these stocks — or, 
in other words, by funds of the estate, which thus went to pay, 
sooner or later, for the investment in the Foundry, and were, so 
far at least, diminished by the loss of that investment. Besides, 
it is a mere gratuitous assumption of Mr. Lowell's, that Mr. K. 
Boott, in this letter, is referring at all to the business of the Iron 
Foundry^ as having caused the diminution of the estate, of which 
he speaks. The probability is, that when he speaks of the es- 
tate's having been used in business, and thereby greatly dimin- 
ished, he refers not to the unsettled business of the Iron Foundry, 
in which a ruinous loss was then '■'•feared,^^ as Mr. Lowell says, 
and expected, though not yet positively ascertained, but rather 
to its use in the business of the second firm of Kirk Boott & 
Sons, which, as we have seen, was wound up with very great 
loss to somebody ; and in which, it appears probable, that the 
general funds of the estate had been improperly embarked, by 
the executor, without any fimit, or the least regard to the provis- 
ions of the will. If the allusion was to that, as would seem 
most natural, Mr. K. Boott being fully aware of the extent of 
the loss in that unfortunate concern, it frees his letter from the 
objection of supposing, that he meant to have it understood, as 
his opmion, that Mr. Wright Boott was authorized to use the 
estate in a kind of business so utterly foreign to any contempla- 
tion of the will as that of the Iron Foundry — an opinion which, 
I am very confident, he never entertained. 



136 

The note of Mr. Robert Ralston, referred to by Mr. Lowell, 
without date, is not, I presume, an original writing of the period 
to which it relates, but a note written to Mr. Wright Boott about 
the time when the settlement of accounis was a subject of dis- 
cussion. What led to the writing of it does not appear — but 
may be inferred from the fact, that certain members of the fam- 
ily chose to consider the stand taken by Mr. Wm. Boott and my- 
self nn impeachment of Mr. Wright Boott's honor and integrity. 
This was probably the subject of communications between them 
and Mr. Wright Boott ; and, as he had suddenly taken Mrs. 
Ralston into favor, after an interval of a dozen years, Mr. 
Ralston was probably induced, by some representation on the 
subject, to write a note, which, so far as it purports to state any 
former opinion of mine, states nothing which I do not now 
readily accede to ■ — although Mr. Wright Boott, in his distorted 
view of affairs, may have supposed it calculated to show that I 
was acting an inconsistent part. I hardly think Mr. Lowell 
would seriously so interpret it. 

Perhaps I have already dwelt longer on this correspondence 
of Jan. 31, 1845, with Mr. Lowell, than its importance may seem 
to demand. But, before parting with it, I wish to call the read- 
er's attention to one fact which it seems to indicate. Mr. Lowell 
had become a partisan. He had completely identified himself 
with Mr. Wright Boott, in the principal subjects of controversy, 
and hence, without perhaps making himself ostensibly very ac- 
tive, he took occasion, as opportunity offered, to suggest any little 
matter which seemed to him to put me more or less in the wrong. 
With this view, the statement of Mr. Kirk Boott, concerning my 
former opinions, seems to have been invoked; — but unfortun- 
ately, when produced, and backed by another from Mr. Ralston, 
is not found to sustain his assertion. Yet this assertion, thus 
confidently made to Mr. Wm. Boott, and afterwards to me when 
called for, has probably been made to others, who have rested 
upon it, without inquiry, because it was Mr. Loive/Ps assertion. 
In this manner, frequent statements of his, on different parts of 
the case, in many instances, I have reason to believe, and in sev- 
eral instances am able to prove, have contributed to the formation 
of the common opinion, which his testimony before the coroner's 
jury was well calculated to fix, concerning my supposed mis- 
take in this whole matter, and its supposed melancholy conse- 
quences. More of this will presently appear. 

While this matter of settlement of accounts and change in 
the trusteeship was under consideration, it has been already in- 
timated, that some of the ladies of the family looked upon it as 
a continued persecution. They were unacquainted with the 
facts, and consequently there was a great deal of mistake and 
misrepresentation as to the conduct and motives of myself and 



137 

Mrs. Brooks, and Mr. Wm. Boott, which were made subjects of 
very free remark, and of communication to members of the 
family at a distance. During this season of commotion, Mrs. 
Ralston happened to make a visit to her brother, Mr. Wright 
Boott, and staid with him some days. She had not seen him 
before for years, until her visit of the preceding summer ; she 
heard his statements, she found him supported by several of the 
female relatives referred to, and she also espoused his cause. It 
was just after this interview, that Mr. Wright Boott made his 
will, leaving her his residuary legatee. In the mean time, the 
letters sent to England, containing a view of affairs which seem- 
ed to derive countenance from Mr. Lowell, so far as his com- 
munications went, began to affect the feelings of members of the 
family resident there, and Mrs. Boott, in particular, wrote in 
consequence to Mrs. Lyman, commenting in terms of great se- 
verity on the conduct of Mrs. Brooks and myself. She com- 
plained that our refusal to sign the deed of the house was pre- 
venting the realization of a sum which would add to her 
income, and that in that manner our conduct was depriving her 
of the comforts necessary to her declining age. I thus found 
myself in the disagreeable position of having nearly the whole 
family arrayed against me, at the very time that I was acting, as 
I thought my duty required, for the preservation of their own 
interests. Other persons soon imbibed these impressions. How 
far Mr. Lowell himself gave direct countenance, at that time, 
to the reports which began to circulate at home, to my disad- 
vantage, I am not distinctly informed ; but I heard, frequently, 
about the result of his examination of the accounts, as a tri- 
umphant vindication of Mr. Wright Boott's course of conduct 
as an executor and trustee, proving me to be entirely in the 
wrong, and so far seeming to justify the idea of unmerited and 
causeless persecution, entertained by those who knew least 
and talked loudest on the subject. I cannot say that I was not 
exceedingly provoked, nor that I did not sometimes express my- 
self with warmth, — not concerning Mr. Wright Boott, of whose 
partial insanity I was at this time thoroughly convinced, — but 
concerning some of my wife's relatives, who were, and had long 
been, upholding him in a course of unreasonable conduct, and 
heaping opprobrium upon those of us who took the stand which 
led to the settlement. The harmony of family intercourse was 
broken up, and one consequence, which I regret, was a breach 
with several persons for whom I entertained much regard.^ 

* For none more than Mr. Wm. Wells, — with whom my friendly intercourse had 
been of long standing, but became interrupted, at a period somewhat earlier than I am 
now speaking of As my conduct, towards him, has been much misrepresented, I majr 
properly avail myself of the present opportunity, to set that matter right, although it 
has but a remote connection with the issue between Mr. Lowell and myself The repre- 
sentation has been : That, because Mr. Wells did not coincide with me, in his views of 

18 



138 

I do not hold Mr. Lowell answerable for all this ; but I do so 
far as it arose from any representations of Ms concerning the state 
of Mr. Wright BootCs accounts as proof of my mistake, — which 
I have reason to believe were often made, in terras not varying 

some of these family matters, I took advantage of my position, as holder of a mortgage on 
his estate, at Cambridge, to oppress and injm-e him, by means of it. The circumstance 
referred to occurred in 1842, before I had come to a settled belief in Mr. Wright Boott's 
insanity, and while I was under extreme provocation at his conduct. In the course of that 
year, he, all at once, altei-ed his manner towards Mrs. Brooks, who had always been very 
kind and attentive to him ; and, at last, treated her with such excessive and unprovoked 
rudeness, as to occasion a cessation of all intercourse between us. The Wells family became, 
in a degree, impHcated, by choosing to uphold him in a course of conduct, which I 
thought, at that time, quite inexcusable, and still think so, except on the plea of insan- 
ity, which I afterwards became satisfied was the real explanation. Mr. Wells himself 
did not think proper to exercise any restraint over other members of his family, in their 
course of action, or remark, connected with this subject; but rather appeared to coun- 
tenance, to some extent, what was quite disagreeable to Mrs. Brooks and myself. 
Whether I was right, or wrong, in taking the notice of this which I did, is a point which 
I am not anxious to clear up, — it being a matter of feeling, depending on circumstances 
requiring a long explanation, and which, perhaps, others, after all, might not appreciate ; 
but I should be sorry to be thought, by my friends, guilty of the meanness and injustice 
of vslng my power ^ as a creditor, to ^o an essential injury to an old friend, because a 
difference had arisen between us. It is on this point only, that I wish to correct misre- 
presentation. The facts are simply these : It liad formerly been in my power, and it 
was a particular pleasure to me, to be of some service to Mr. Wells, in settling up for 
him the accounts of his former partnership with Mr. Lilly, and extricating him from 
the emban-assments of that concern. In connection with this service, I was, fortunately, 
enabled to aid him, in his views of establishing himself, at Cambridge, in a new pursuit, 
by the purchase of an estate for him, in that place, at a price which, I thought, made it 
a very advantageous bargain ; and so the event proved. I offered, either to take the 
risk of the purchase myself, and let the estate to him, at a low rate, or, to buy it in his 
own name, as he should prefer ; strongly recommending the latter, however, as wliat I 
thought most for his interest. He was governed by my advice in that ; and, to enable 
him to become the purchaser, I lent him the whole purchase-money, — being $7,700, — 
for ten years, at five and a half per cent., on no other security' than his own note, 
with a mortgage of the estate purchased. This, of course, was not a business trans- 
action. No capitalist would lend, on mortgage, to the full value of the property, and 
at less than legal interest. Besides which, I was not, at that time, in a position to be 
a money-lender at all; in fact, I was obliged myself to borrow the money of a friend, 
as if for my own accommodation, in order to lend it to Mr. Wells, on "that security. 
This was about the year 1827. In 1842, the ten years of the loan had long run out, 
but it had been suffered to lie, from year to year, with no particular agreement for 
renewal, but during mutual good pleasure. During this whole period, of about fifteen 
years, Mr. Wells enjoyed his purchase, by paying only five and a half per cent, in- 
terest upon it, annually, while the estate rose, in his hands, to be worth three or four 
times its original cost. In that state of the case, any farther continuance of friendly 
accommodation had ceased to be needful ; because any capitalist, desiring a good invest 
ment, would willingly lend, on such a property, a third of its value. In the mean time, 
the circumstances which hud made it mutuaUy agreeable, for Mr. Wells and myself, to 
stand in the relation we did, respecting the mortgage, had become entirely altered, in con 
sequence of this family feud. Money was abundant ; there was no difficulty in borrowing 
the same sum, or a larger one, if desired, from some person who would like to lend it, as 
a mere matter of business ; and, upon the whole, I thought it rather desirable, for both 
of us, that that arrangement should be made, — not at a moment's warning, but within a 
few days, or weeks, when convenience would permit. 

Accordingly, I concluded a letter, written in no unfriendly spirit towards Mr. Wells, 
(though I spoke of Mr. Wright Boott in it, under the provocation of the moment, in 
harsher terms than I should iiow deliberately approve,) in the following words : — 

" There are some matters of business between us, which, as loe cannot conduct them 
in tlie pleasant manner we have done, I wish to have closed. The mortgage on your 
estate, I presume, you will find no difficulty in transferring; as it is worth "much more 
than its cost. ^ I should like to have it settled within ten da3-s, or a fortnight, if conveni- 
ent to you. The other money matters between us are of no consequence. 

" Very truly yours, &c., Ed. Brooics." 

Mr. Wells acceded to this suggestion, and took his own time for effecting the transfer. 
This is the whole transaction, concerning the mortgage, which some persons have repre 
sented as an act of cruelty and oppression. That it vvas never so regarded by Mr. Wells 
himself, appears by his own letters, written to a common friend in Englan'd, in conse- 



139 

substantially from his statements before the coroner's jury, — and, 
so far as his statements otherwise contributed to convey eiTone- 
0M5 impressions to different members of the family. In connec- 
tion with this subject, I refer to a letter from Mrs. Brooks to her 
mother, dated Dec. 11, 1844, the contents of which I have reason 
to believe came back from England to Mr. Lowell, whom it 
appeals to for the truth of some of its statements well known 
to him. [See App. No. 31.] For the facts stated in the letter, 
I, of course, hold myself responsible, as Mrs. Brooks derived her 
knowledge of them from me. Indeed, they are substantially the 
same, so far as they go, with what the foregoing pages have 
already shown. What answer Mr. Lowell may have made to 
that appeal I do not know; but, if any, its tenor may be inferred 
from his subsequent testimony, and from what is known of his 
earlier communications. For it is not upon mere surmise, that 
I attribute to Mr. Lowell, mainly, the state of feeling towards 
myself, and Mrs. Brooks, and Mr. William Boott, which arose 
in certain portions of the family. 

The truth, on this point, is, that, while other persons were con- 
stantly writing to Mrs. Boott, or Dr. Boott, in a manner intended 
to impress their own exaggerated and erroneous views of our 
conduct, intentions, and motives, and of the causes of trouble at 
home, it was not until those representations came to be backed, 
to some extent at least, by statements from Mr. Lowell, that any 
considerable impression was produced. His apparent position, 
as an old friend of the family — a person of known judgment 
and discretion, in business affairs — supposed to have no per- 
sonal interest, and no extraordinary bias, but to stand, a perfectly 

quence of the false reports which arose respecting it. Parts of them will he found in 
the following extract from a letter, written by one of the family in London, to Mrs. 
Brooks, Aug. 1, 1844 : — 

" Mr. Wells, upon the subject of the mortgage, has most emphatically endeavored to 
impress me with the fact, that, in your husband's asking it to be transferred, there was 
nothing asked of him that caused him inconvenience, or that he thought unreasonable, 
under the painful circumstances of the moment. He fully acknowledged all Mr. B.'s 
generous aid, in respect to the purchase of the Cambridge House ; and owns, that, 
through the kindness of Mr. B., he has been largely benefitted. Under date of March 
25, Mr. Wells says, — ' It is singular that, in Mr. Brooks's letter, what affected me least, 
should strike you most foi-cibly, — I mean the mortgage, which I had forgotten having men- 
tioned. I have never tlwught it oppressiv., or injurious ; and have, indeed, thought little 
of it. Mr. Brooks said, very truly, — As your estate is worth a great deal more, you will 
find no difficulty in effecting a transfer. Nor did I. I beg, therefore, you will acquit 
him, as I have ever done, of the intention of doing me a maferial injury. Nor do I for- 
get, that I am indebted to his exertions for the purchase of this estate, which has proved 
a very fortunate one.' Again, under date of April 8, he says : — ' I hope you have 
received my letter, by Dr. Warren. I was anxious you should not attribute "to Mr. B. 
other motives than really actuated him. He had no intention of doing me an injury, by 
the closing of the mortgage.' " The writer then adds : — " You are at perfect liberty to 
make use of these extracts." 

These voluntary statements, of the party supposed to be injured, I presume, will be 
sufficient for my vindication against the charge of oppressing him, in pecuniarj^ matters. 
I may add, that, notwithstanding the unhappy difference which has arisen between the 
families, it will always be a gratification to me to reflect, that the result of the trans- 
actions referred to has been, to add at least $20,000 to the property of a gentleman, for 
whom I always had a very sincere regard. I believe I never made half so good an in- 
vestment for myself, or one which gave me half so much satisfaction. 



140 

cool observer of what was passing — gave great weight to his 
slightest suggestions; and these, consequently, conferred an im- 
portance on the strong statements of some of the ladies, not jus- 
tified by the value attached to their unsupported opinions, on 
the pending questions. I refer, for proof, to extracts from let- 
ters of Dr. Boott. [See App. No. 19.] In that of April 18, 
1844, may be seen the position of affairs in London, before Mr. 
Lowell had interfered by any letter of his own. Dr. Boott, him- 
self convinced of Mr. Wright Boott's partial insanity, was array- 
ing before his mother the instances of unreasonable and out- 
rageous conduct, which no other conclusion could excuse. Mrs. 
Boott, with strong maternal prejudices in favor of an eldest son, 
in whom she had always been accustomed to place " unlimited 
confidence," ignorant of any change that had occurred in him, 
and equally so of the manner in which he had always dealt with 
the family property, found herself called upon to judge upon 
conflicting representations, now made to her, respecting him, 
from different branches of the family, and had arrived so far 
towards a right view of the case, as to have written " to J. W. B., 
requiring- him to settle his accounts^ This was some time be- 
fore any call made upon him to do so, by any member of the 
family here ; but was after Mr. Wm. Boott and Mrs. Brooks 
had, for the first time, informed Mrs. Boott of particulars respect- 
ing his conduct, which, from tenderness towards her, had hith- 
erto been carefully concealed ; but which, when so important a 
question had arisen, affecting her own interest, they thought it 
their duty to disclose, in the hope that she might exercise an in- 
fluence over him, which no other person could ; and might her- 
self contribute to the bringing about of some proper arrangement 
for the security of her own property. The ladies of the Wells 
family had given a very opposite version to the causes of diffi- 
culty, representing Mr. Wright Boott as a persecuted man. In 
that state of facts, Mrs. Boott writes, "requiring him to settle his 
accounts." The next communication from Dr. Boott, dated 
June 3, shows the effect of a letter from Mr. Lowell. There 
were other letters, doubtless — but Dr. Boott writes, " My moth- 
er will w/j/ioZc? J. W. B. ;" and he assigns the reason, — ^^ She 
has the sanction of Mr. Lowell " .' 

It was this hint, coupled with some other information, which 
led to the correspondence between Mr. Wm. Boott and Mr. 
Lowell, on the 22d and 24th of June, which has been referred to 
[App. Nos. 24, 25]. But later letters, from Dr. Boott, exhibit, 
more distinctly, the effect of Mr. Lowell's communications. 
June IS, he writes, — " I beg you to consider the position of my 
mother, with her long-accustomed confidence in J. W. B., and 
letters from Mr. Loivell, Dr. Jackson, and Mr. Wells, all urging 
her to continue her trust in him; and this, timing with the ex- 



141 

pected sale of the house, the consciousness of his poverty, and 
his having to seek some new abode." " My own feelings have 
undergone no change, except.^ perhaps, as to the state of J. W. 
B.'s mind, in consequence of the letters received by my mother^ 
from Dr, J. and Mr. LP — July 2, he writes again, — " You can- 
not, at present, change her view of the case, that J. W. B. has 
been persecuted; and when you consider the prestige I have 
alluded to, and the appeals made to her, simultaneously, from 
Mr. Lowell {who enclosed a note to him from Dr. Jackson), from 
Mr. Wells, Mrs. Ralston, and Mrs. K. Boott, and consider that 
your own accusation of mental unsoundness, came with an in- 
evitable feeling of compassion, and a consequent sense of harsh- 
ness, at the idea of a public exposure, and putting him on trial 
before a judge, as if his integrity were questionable, you cannot 
be surprised that my mother condemns youP 

This idea of a public trial was a mere misapprehension; but 
it must have arisen from a misrepresentation, or, at least, 
an erroneous statement, by somebody. I do not mean to say 
that it came from Mr. Lowell. I have never seen his letters ; 
and impute to him nothing more than the evidence discloses. 
But, that his statements and representations, whatever they may 
have been, were the responsible source of opinions formed in 
London, unfavorable to Mr. Wm. Boott and myself, on account 
of the course we were pursuing, or were supposed to be pursu- 
ing, to effect some safe settlement for the family, is a point 
which Dr. Boott's letters distincdy prove. They farther prove, 
that the greatest affliction which has befallen Mrs. Brooks and 
Mr. Wm. Boott, throughout this unfortunate family dissension, — 
namely, the censure and diminished affection of a mother to 
whom they are tenderly attached, — turns out to have been caused, 
— though that consequence, I presume, was not aimed at, — by Mr. 
Lowell. It is true, that letters from other persons are spoken of; 
and that statements and representations, from some of the family, 
contributed to produce this effect. So far, Mr. Lowell may 
seem not to be responsible ; but, unfortunately for Mr. Lowell, 
their views and opinions, also, appear to have taken their hue, 
partly at least, from his suggestions, and to have been founded 
upon what were supposed to be his views and opinions. He 
was relied upon here, as much as he was in London — and for 
the same reason, namely, that he was regarded as the disinter- 
ested friend of all, and particularly competent to judge. This 
reliance of the parties, here, on Mr. Lowell, distinctly appears in 
a correspondence between Mr. Wm. Boott and Mr. Wm. Wells. 
The original letters of the latter gentleman are now in my pos- 
session ; and I am permitted by Mr. Wm. Boott, to extract the 
passages which relate to this subject. [See App. No. IS.] Mr. 
Wells's letter of Dec. 5, '43, informs us that Mrs. Wells had learn- 



142 

ed from Mrs. Kirk Boott, " that 3Ir. Lowell stated to her, that, hav- 
ing heard it reported, that Mrs. Boott's property had been mate- 
rially diminished, he could say this vms not the case, — it re- 
mained as it was, /i^e/t'e years ag-o;" and for this, " Ae g-ave 
Mrs. Boott liberty to use his natne.^^ 

Now, alihough Mr. Lowell was guarded enough to confine 
the use of his name to a statement relating only to 3Trs. Booths 
property, and only lo its comparative condition then and tivelve 
years before (which just went back to the time of Mr. Wright 
Boolt's extrication from the business of the Iron Foundry, in 
1831), yet the ladies, who had this piece of information, would 
not be likely to measure language wilh the same exactness. 
The effect upon them, in reference to the actual question, was 
equivalent to an assurance, from the highest authority, that every 
thing about Mr. Wright Boott's executorship, was just what it 
should have been ; and that the family property was perfectly 
safe in his hands. Mr. Lowell did not inform Mrs. K. Boott 
that, a very little more than twelve years before, the whole of that 
property came near being lost, in Mr. Wright Boolt's private 
speculations; nor, that a great part of it was lost; nor, that more 
than half of all that was left (the Mansion House excepted), 
stood pledged, at that very moment, to himself, for Mr. Wright 
Boolt's personal debts ; nor that, during the twelve years spoken 
of, Mr, Wright Boott had paid, in principal and interest, about 
$60,000 of his oivn debts, out of Mrs. Boott's property. The 
ladies, naturally enough, thought themselves grounded upon Mr. 
Lowell, therefore, when they made round assertions, extending 
much beyond his statements; and, although Mr. Lowell may 
not be answerable for their misconceptions of what he did say, 
any more than for wrong inferences of the jurymen, he is, un- 
doubtedly, responsible for all probable consequences of having 
communicated a fraction of a fact, as if it were the whole fact. 

Mr. Lowell's position, therefore, in this part of the case, stands 
thus : When questions first arose, among members of the family 
here, upon ihe propriety, under the actual circumstances, of 
placing in Mr. Wright Boott's hands, the proceeds of a sale of 
the Mansion House, then contemplated ; and when it was sug- 
gested, by those who knew the facts concerning his past mis- 
management, as well as certain extravagant conduct, which they 
imputed to partial insanity, that he was unfit for a new trust; 
while others, who knew nothing of the facts, insisted that the 
outrages complained of, were either false statements, or no more 
than the suffering parlies deserved, and that Mr. Wright Boott 
was the great benefactor of the family ; Mr. Lowell, well know- 
ing the facts concerning the family property, chose to throw his 
own weight inio the scale, and to volunteer a statement to a lady 
of the family, with authority to quote him for it, which seemed 



143 

to show that the property was abundantly safe, in such manage- 
ment, and withheld the information he possessed, of facts which 
cleai'ly prove the reverse. That lady communicated what she 
had learned, with her authority, to the ladies of the Wells fam- 
ily, who were particularly ardent champions for Mr. Wright 
Boott. Mr. Wells himself, much influenced by the feelings of 
those about him, and knowing no more of the business, than the 
ladies did, as appears by his own admission, in the letter of Dec. 
8 [App. No. 18], thought he could rely safely on what came 
from Mr. Lowell. Mrs. Kalston derived whatever information 
she possessed, from conversations with the other' ladies. Mrs. 
Kirk Boott derived hers directly from Mr. Lowell. The views 
of these parties, with more or less of exaggeration and error, 
went forward to London, but failed of themselves to produce 
there the effect intended. But Mr. Lowell, again, throws his 
own weight into the scale, and writes directly to the parties in 
London, such letters, as, added to those from members of the 
Wells family, and Mr. Wells himself, from Mrs. Ralston and 
Mrs. Kirk Boott, and a few lines from Dr. Jackson, on the point 
of insanity, addressed to Mr. Lowell, obtained by him on his 
own statements, and by him transmitted to Mrs. Boott, com- 
pletely settled the question in her mind. Mr. LoweWs remarks 
satisfied her that Mr. Wright Boott was every way worthy 
of her continued confidence ; and, as a corollary, that the pro- 
ceedings of Mr. Wm. Boott and myself were a mere persecu- 
tion, for the wicked purpose of disgracing Mr. Wright Boott, in 
the eyes of the community. Thus the array of most of the family, 
and of their numerous friends, against me, appears to have 
flowed, directly, or indirectly, from Mr. Lowell's interference, and 
from his voluntary statements of some facts, without disclosing oth- 
ers, equally pertinent, and equally well known to him, coupled 
with the weight of his own opinion, expressed, or suggested. 
Yet Mr. Lowell claims to be considered "wo party to the diffi- 
culties which have caused so much pain in Mrs. Boott's family," 
— thinks it quite unreasonable that he should be implicated "in 
any of the issues growing out of those difficulties," and respect- 
fully requests " to be excused from any further participation in 
them." 

While this was going on, unknown, or but partially known, 
to me, and while Mr, Lowell's reputed examination and ap- 
proval of Mr. Wright Boott's accounts, was beginning to be 
quoted against me, at home, I submitted, as well as I could, to 
the odium I had unjustly incurred. Notwithstanding all this 
provocation, I still refrained from disclosing the facts and proofs 
in my possession respecting Mr. Wright Boott's malagency, 
considering them as confidential matters which I hoped never to 
be compelled to disclose, and trusting that the settlement of ac- 



144 

counts and change of trusteeship, which had been effected, would 
in time restore peace and quiet to the family, that the breaches 
would be healed, and the past forgotten. And so it would 
probably have happened, but for the testimony of Mr. Lowell 
before the coroner's jury. This added new fuel to the flame. 
It gave increased publicity and an authentic source, in the pub- 
lic mind, to the stories of my unfounded charges against Mr. 
Wright Boott, and these stories became accompanied with the 
suggestion (traced also to Mr. Lowell's testimony, or the natural 
inferences from it), that my unfounded charges and unjustifiable 
conduct had, in one sense, been the cause of a shocking death. 

I now dismiss the subject of the accounts and letters, and pro- 
ceed to a narrative of the facts connected with this coroner's 
inquest, pursuing, in general, the order in which they became 
known to me, that my own course of conduct may be the better 
understood. 

About three months had elapsed, after the making of the 
agreement which virtually settled the account, and more than 
two months since the forms were gone through with which car- 
ried it into effect, before any thing else occurred of much note. 
Mr. Lowell took occasion to inform both Mr. Wm. Boott and 
myself, that he thought the settlement a very fortunate one — 
that Mr. Wright Boott appeared to be in a happy frame of mind, 
and was more tranquil and cheerful than he had seen him for a 
long time. Every thing seemed tending to a season of quiet. 
The public had learned that the title to the Boott estate was 
made good. Those relatives and connections of the family who 
had seen no reason why Mr. Wright Boott should not continue 
in charge of the property, had ceased to agitate themselves, or 
others, and all excitement on the subject had died away. I saw 
nothing of Mr. Wright Boott personally, but I heard of no par- 
ticular extravagance in his conduct. He was to vacate the 
house, by agreement with the purchaser, on the first of April ; in 
the mean time he lived in it, as he had long before, in perfect 
seclusion, Mrs. Lyman living in it also, but required by him to 
keep to her own apartments exclusively. No new event had 
occurred to disturb him, to my knowledge; but the time for quit- 
ting the house in which his father died, and in which he himself 
had lived for more than forty years, drew nigh. On the morn- 
ing of the 7th of March the servants knocked at his door re- 
peatedly, at different hours, without answer ; and finally, about 
eleven o'clock, becoming alarmed, they informed Mrs. Lyman. 
The door was opened, and he was found dead, with the instru- 
ments of self-destruction in his hand. Mrs. Lyman, whom the 
unfortunate man had supposed to be my spy in the house, im- 
mediately sent, not for me, but for Mr. Lowell. Mr. Lowell 
happened to be found at his own house — a very unusual circum- 



145 

stance at that hour of the day— and proceeded at once to Mrs. 
Lyman, taking Dr. Jackson, the family physician, with him ; and 
there, I presume, spent sucii time as was proper in inquiring into 
all that was to be learned, land doing whatever was immediately 
needful. 

Mr. Lowell was the first person who informed me of the event. 
The course of our interview was nearly as follows. He came 
into my office at about fifteen or twenty minutes before two 
o'clock, and told me, in general terms, that Mr. Wright Boott had 
destroyed himself. I was much shocked, and expressed my sur- 
prise, remarking, that " I thought he had been very tranquil since 
the settlement of the accounts." Mr. Lowell said, " he has been 
quite tranquil until about ten days ago, when he got an idea that 
his brother William had stolen a letter of his, and sent for me in 
consequence. He said it was a letter from his mother, which 
ought to have come by the last steamer, and insisted that his 
brother must have taken it from the post-office and kept it. I 
found it impossible to reason him out of this idea. He insisted 
upon ray going with him to the post-office for the purpose of 
investigating the subject, and getting his box changed." Mr. 
Lowell then narrated the particulars of the suicide, so far as they 
were known, or conjectured, and among other things mentioned, 
4hat the deceased had put a letter into the post-office, for some- 
body, between ten and eleven o'clock last night. I made no 
remark on that at the time — but he, soon after, going on with 
his narrative, repeated with some emphasis, " he put a letter into 
the post-office last night, and I can't find that anybody has 
got it." I then asked, " how do you know that?" He said, 
"the servants saw him writing till about half past ten, and then 
saw him put a letter into the breast of his coat and go out 
with it. He was absent just about long enough to have gone 
to the post-office ; but nothing has been heard of the letter, and 
nobody knows to whom it was directed." I said, " You would 
have been the most likely person for him to have addressed a 
letter to." He replied, " Perhaps so — but it may have been sent 
to Mrs. Ralston, or to Mr. Wells." I said, " Yes, or it may 
have been directed to England." He assented to this as not 
unlikely. I then remarked, " All that you have now told me 
serves to confirm the idea I have long entertained, as you 
know, that Wright was insane." He said, " I don't know about 
that. Do you think there ought to be an inquest?" I replied, 
" By all means." He then asked, " Where is the coroner to be 
found ? I don't know where to find one." I answered, " Neither 
do I; but I presume somewhere among the constables' offices 
in Court Square." It was by this time about two o'clock, and I 
proposed to go with him into Court Square and see if we could 
find the coroner. We went out together with that view. On 
19 ^ 



146 

the way I remarked, that, " in the present state of affairs in the 
family I should rather prefer not to be present at the inquest, 
unless it is necessary." He said, " It is not at all so — I can do 
everything." I reminded him that Mr. Wm. Boott was at Low- 
ell, and would not be back till six o'clock. He said, " Give 
yourself no trouble about that. I will be at the cars myself, or 
have some one there, to notify him the moment he arrives, and 
will make all previous arrangements." 

On arrival in Court Square, I soon found the sign of Jabez 
Pratt, coroner, which I pointed out, saying, " here is the man you 
want;" and as I was anxious to go home and break the news 
to my wife, I inquired, " Do you want any thing more of me ? " 
He said " No, — I will take care to notify Wm. Boott;" and I 
left him at the door of Mr. Pratt's office, just after two o'clock, 
and went home, in perfect confidence that he would not only do 
all he had undertaken, but would do it precisely as it ought to 
be done. 

I presumed the inquest would not be held, or at least com- 
pleted, till Mr. Wm. Boott had an opportunity of being present, 
if he pleased. Whether he was, or not, I had no doubt that the 
circumstances of the death, the fact which Mr. Lowell had just 
told me about the recent excitement of the deceased on the sub- 
ject of a missing letter, the manner in which he had lived in the 
house for a year without permitting his sister to see or commu- 
nicate with him, and other strange facts known to Mr. Lowell, 
would lead a jury to the usual finding in such cases, of suicide 
in consequence of insanity. I presumed Mr. Lowell himself, 
as an old and intimate friend of the deceased, would desire, now 
that all questions about accounts and property were settled, to 
clear his memory, if possible, from the discredit commonly at- 
tached to an act of deliberate suicide; and, although Mr. Lowell, 
while acting as the friend of Mr. Wright Boott in his lifetime, 
had never admitted to me, for a moment, and did not, in the 
interview above-mentioned, in direct terms admit, that he believed 
him to be insane — still, knowing my opinion, he had never ex- 
pressed to me a decided conviction to the contrary, and I knew 
facts Avhich assured me that he had long before been at least 
suspicious of it, and doubtful about it. I had reason to be- 
lieve, that he knew the contents of the letter to Mr. Hooper, 
which Dr. Boott pronounced, both from its tenor and its hand- 
writing, proof of Jiionomania; that he was acquainted with the 
extraordinary conduct of the deceased towards Mr. Wm. Boott, 
and more recently to his sister, Mrs. Lyman ; and with his long 
cherished idea of a plot against him in the family, — for Mr. 
Lowell himself had once told me, that, on his advising Mr. 
Wright Boott to take a trip to Europ.?, he turned upon him and 
charged him, Mr. Lowell, with being in the plot, and as bad as any 



147 

of them. I also knew, from Dr. Jackson, that Mr. Lowell had 
once called upon him 1o obtain his opinion on the subject, and 
had stated facts which led that gentleman to pronounce Mr. 
Wright Boott of unsound mind ; and, though I also knew, from 
the correspondence before referred to, between Mr. Lowell and 
Mr. Wm. Boott, that Dr. Jackson had more recently given a dif- 
ferent opinion, and that this second opinion was upon facts stated 
by Mr. Lowell at another interview, and that Mr. Lowell had 
then written to Dr. Boott in a manner intended to remove his 
former impressions of his brother's insanity, yet all this indi- 
cated to my mind, that Mr. Lowell thought it so doubtful, that 
he still wanted a medical opinion ; and after what he had just 
told me, concerning the excited state of mind of the deceased 
within ten days, upon the ridiculous idea that his brother had 
stolen one of his letters, and the shocking consummation in which 
his excitement had ended, I was fully persuaded, that, if Mr. 
Lowell were called upon as a witness to give his real opinion, it 
would be that the deceased was proba.bly not in a somid state of 
mind at the time; at any rate, I could not doubt that he would 
state the facts above-mentioned, leaving them to produce their 
natural impression. It never entered my head that pains would 
be taken, on his part, to produce a contrary impression ; nor 
would I have believed, if I had been told, that anything would 
be stated by him to my disadvantage, in my absence and with- 
out notice ; for Mr. Lowell and myself V\^ere upon terms of the 
most perfect friendship, and, so far as I knew, mutual respect and 
regard. 

It will be observed, too, that, at this time, I had no reason 
to suppose that any question was involved in, or might be affect- 
ed by, the inquiry, other than matters of feeling. I had no idea 
there was a will in the case, ivhich might alter rights of property 
in the family. Mr. Wright Boott, situated as he was, I should 
have thought extremely unlikely to have made a will. The idea 
of it had not been suggested on either side, in the course of my 
conversation with Mr. Lowell. No sort of paper had been 
spoken of but a letter, and that conjectured only to have been 
put into the post-office, but not known to have been received by 
anybody, nor even to luhom addressed. When it turned out, 
therefore, that the letter was addressed to Mr. Lowell himself, 
and that this letter contained a will, and that will cutting off most 
of the testator's family from any share of his estate, I cannot for- 
bear to express my astonishment, that Mr. Lowell, after knowl- 
edge of that, and after the conversation we had just had, should 
have thought it his duty to proceed in the inquest, without notice 
to me, or to Mr. Wm. Boott (whom he had undertaken to notify) 
of facts so essentially altering the nature and importance of the 
inquiry, and that he should then have testified, in the absence of 
both of us, in the manner in which it appears he did testify. 



148 

But, 1o proceed with my narrative — I remained at home the 
rest of the day with my wife. At last, hearing nothing from 
Mr. Lowell, or Mrs. Lyman, nor from Mr. Wm. Boott, who, I 
thought, would have been likely to call upon rae and my wife 
after the inquest, I went, a little before 9 o'clock in the evening, 
to his lodgings. I found him alone, writing, and found, to my 
great surprise, that he had heard nothing' of his brother's death. 
His first remark, after he had recovered from the shock of my 
intelligence, was, "Mary" (meaning Mrs. Lyman) "is alone in 
the house. We must go to her." We did so, and found Mrs. 
Lyman at the house, and two female friends with her. The 
conversation turned, among other things, upon the inquest, which, 
Mrs. Lyman said, ivas held ahovt four o'' clock; and that she and 
the two women (meaning the servants), and Mr. Lowell, had 
been examined ; and that Mr. Lowell produced the letter. I 
asked what letter. She said the letter which Wright had written 
the night before. I said you must be mistaken about that, for 
Mr. Lowell told me, at two o'clock, that there was a letter, sup- 
posed to have been put into the post-office, but that nobody had 
got it. Mrs. Lyman replied, " it was to Mr. Loivell himseff and 
he had it at the inquest." Being still incredulous, I asked whether 
she was present when Mr. Lowell testified, and saw the letter 
herself. She said, no, but that, after the inquest, Mr. Lowell told 
her about it, and told her some things that were in the letter. I 
asked what they were. She said, " I was charged in the letter 
with being in the house as a spy, and you with placing me here 
for that purpose." She was at that time entirely ignorant that 
the letter contained a will ; and could recollect nothing more of 
its contents, as stated by Mr. Lowell. She afterwards told me, 
that Mr. Lowell said it was rather incoherent — an expression, 
which, at a subsequent interview, he was unwilling to admit 
that he had used, preferring then to say, vague and indistinct. 
This news of such a letter received by Mr. Lowell (although 
I knew nothing of its enclosing a will) surprised me even 
more than the finding Mr. Wm. Boott not notified of his 
brother's death, as I could not understand why Mr. Low- 
ell should not have received a letter, coming through the post- 
office, at an hour of the day so late as our interview. If I had 
known that he had not left his house, that morning, till sent 
for by Mrs. Lyman, I should have accounted for it by sup- 
posing that it must have been taken to his counting-room in the 
morning, and sent thence to his house, and that he had found it 
there after we had separated. But, then, why did he not give 
me notice of it ? 

It was now about ten o'clock at night, and Mr. Wm. Boott 
proposed, that we should call on Mr. Lowell to make arrange- 
ments about the funeral. We did so, and found him alone in 



149 

his library. The only material part of the conversation concerns 
the letter. After something said by Mr. Wm. Boolt about the 
funeral, Mr. Lowell said he had already made arrangements, and 
that he did so because he had received a letter from Wright, 
brought to him at his house after he had parted from me, which 
enclosed a will, and appointed him executor. Inquiry was made, 
by Mr. Wm. Boott, about the disposition of the property, and Mr. 
Lowell stated some of the contents of the will. I then said, I 
understand from Mrs. Lyman, that the letter has something about 
me in it ; is it so? He answered, "Yes; he says you placed 
Mrs. Lyman in the house as a spy." I asked if he said nothing 
more about me. Mr. Lowell answered, " Yes ; he says you are 
not an honest man." In explanation of this, Mr. Lowell went 
on to say, " Some time ago," I think he said several weeks ago, 
" I had some conversation with Wright, and in answer to some 
remark of his, I said, — at all events, Mr. Brooks is an honest 
man; on which Mr. Wright Boott became excited and said, — 
' No; Brooks is not an honest man;' and went on endeavoring 
to convince me of the fact ; and in this letter he seems to be 
recurring in his own mind to that conversation, and to resume 
the argument in order to convince me that I was mistaken in 
supposing you an honest man." Mr. Wm. Boott asked if any 
thing was said in the letter about him. Mr. Lowell answer- 
ed, — " your name is not mentioned ; but the letter goes into a 
general history of the dissensions in the family, and of all his 
grievances." As it was now late, the conversation was pursued 
no farther. I was surprised at these facts, and quite unable to 
account for them; but went home still ignorant of the testimony 
at the inquest. 

The next morning, I was informed, that the jury had not found 
the death to have been the consequence of insanity, and that Mr, 
Lowell had testified to the effect, that he had never had the least 
reason to think the deceased of unsound mind. Learning this, I 
thought, that, if Mr. Wright Boott was still considered by others 
a sane man, I ought to know, more particularly, what his state- 
ments were in the letter concerning myself; and meeting Mr. 
Lowell, in the course of the day, in the street, I said to him, I 
think I ought to see that letter, since you say it contains charges 
against me, and that Mr. Wright Boott was sane when he wrote 
it. His answer was, that he thought he ought not to show it ; 
that nobody had seen it hut himself; and that he did not attach 
the least importance to what was said concerning me. Nothing 
more passed between us at that time ; but, on reflection, I was 
not satisfied with the position of the thing, and determined to 
make a more formal request, which I did the next morning, by 
letter, as follows : — 



150 

« March 9, 1845." 
"My Dear Sir, — The letter which Mr. J. W. Boott wrote 
you on the last evening of his life has, as you have informed me, 
several allusions to myself. As this letter is known to be in ex- 
istence, although you have assured me that no one has seen it but 
yourself, it would afford me satisfaction, in the peculiar circum- 
stances of the case, to be allowed to peruse it. Will you let me 
know, by the bearer, whether I may be allowed to do so. 
With great regard, your ob'd't, 

Edward Brooks." 

To this I received a prompt answer, as follows : — 

" Dear Sir, — I am not prepared, at present, to consent to your 
seeing a letter, which Mr. Boott, at so solemn a moment of his 
life, wrote to rne, without expressing a wish that it should be 
communicated to any one. It is written with great calmness, as 
befitted the occasion, and evinces no aberration of mind. 
I am, truly, your ob. sv., 

J. A. LOAVELL." 

" Sunday morning, March 9th, 1845." 

Being still more dissatisfied, after this explicit declaration of 
the sanity of the letter, in Mr. Lowell's opinion, I consulted Mr. 
Wm. Boott, and finally concluded to state the case to Mr. Frank- 
lin Dexter, as a friend, and to be governed by his opinion. I did 
so. Mr. Dexter thought, that I was entitled, under the circum- 
stances, to see the letter, or at least to know precisely what it said 
concerning me, and that Mr. Lowell, on reconsideration, could 
not, in justice to me, refuse it ; and he undertook to see that gen- 
tleman in my behalf. He did so, and the result of the interview 
was, that Mr. Lowell declined showing the letter, either to me, or 
to Mr. Dexter, as my friend, who asked it in order that he might 
judge for me, whether it required any notice. Mr. Lowell's 
alleged ground of refusal was, that it came to him confidentially; 
that it related to family matters, which had been closed and 
ought not to be reopened; and that although he himself consid- 
ered Mr. Wright Boott perfectly sane, yet he gave no weight to 
his expressions concerning myself, because they were such only 
as one man was apt to use against another, with whom he had 
a difference; that the letter produced no effect on his own mind, 
and could not upon others, as it 2vas and ivould be unseen ex- 
cept by himself. Mr. Dexter then asked Mr. Lowell, whether he 
would have any objection to making a statement in writing to 
the effect of what he had just said, and expressed his own belief 
that such a statement would be entirely satisfactory to me, as it 
would afford me means of contradicting any reports to my 
prejudice, by showing that Mr. Lowell himself attached no se- 



151 

rious importance to the charges. Mr. Lowell answered, that he 
thought he should accede to that course, provided Mr. Brooks and 
Mr. Wm. Boott would agree not to oppose the Probate of Mr. 
Wright Boott's will on the ground of his alleged insanity. To this 
Mr. Dexter replied, that he was not authorized to stipulate for either 
of us on that point, but that, from his conversation with me he 
had no belief that we had any inclination to disturb the will, and 
that he would confer with us on the subject. The substance of 
this conversation I state, of course, on the authority of Mr. Dex- 
ter's report to me, and it will be found repeated, nearly as above 
given, in letters from Mr. Dexter, referred to below. 

The singularity of the condition now proposed, as a consid- 
eration for the performance of what I regarded as a mere act of 
justice to myself, on the part of Mr. Lowell, connected with the 
other circumstances above mentioned, concerning the letter and 
concerning what I had heard of the testimony before the jury, 
(though I had no idea, until more than a year after, of the extent 
to which Mr. Lowell had gone,) made me desirous, before giving 
an answer, to know, more particularly, what the finding of the 
coroner's jury was, and upon what evidence it was grounded. 
"With the view of ascertaining this, Mr. Dexter called, at my re- 
quest, upon the coroner, and obtained a copy of the official report 
of the evidence, and also had some conversation with him on the 
subject, in the course of which the coroner stated, that the letter 
in question ivas exhibited to him by Mr. Lowell^ at the time Mr. 
Lowell had called vpon him to procure an inquest ; that he (the 
coroner) read the greater part of the letter., and was not restricted 
from reading the whole ; and that, among other things, it con- 
tained a statement, that the writer had been driven to the act of 
self-destruction by unjust accusations of mismanagement of his 
father'' s estate. 

This, when reported to me, I thought gave a graver aspect and 
more importance to the case than any thing I had before heard, 
at the same time that it was, to my own mind, addifional evi- 
dence of the insanity of the deceased. Mr. Wm. Boott agreed 
with me in this opinion, and, thai any condition, as to the pro- 
bate of the will, which might debar us from bringing the ques- 
tion of the testator's sanity to a legal test, while Mr. Lowell 
asserted it, and while a letter from the testator, containing so se- 
rious a charge against both of us, not only existed, but had been 
shown, was a whoUy unreasonable thing for Mr. Lowefi to ask. 
Mr. Dexter concurred in this view. We, therefore, instructed 
him to say, in our behalf, that we must decline pledging our- 
selves, under these new circumstances, to any particular course 
concerning the probate of the will, and must request once more, 
since the letter had been shown to one other person, at least, that 
we, or some friend in our behalf, might be permitted to see it. 



152 

This Mr. Dexter did, in writing, as appears by the annexed 
copy of his letter to Mr. Lowell, dated March 11, 1845. (App. 
No. 46.) As it is a rough draft, there may have been some ver- 
bal alterations in the fair copy, which was sent as an original, but 
none, probably, material to the sense. 

An answer came, on the following day, from C. G. Loring, 
Esq., in behalf of Mr. Lowell, dated March 12, 1845, to which I 
refer. [App. No. 47.] It will be observed, that it admits, by im- 
plication, that the letter was produced to the coroner by Mr. Lowell, 
and parts of it read, but denies that it had been out of Mr. Low- 
ell's own hand, and asserts, that such portions only were read as 
were necessary to show that Mr. Wright Boott had intended and 
inflicted his own death. It farther denies, that the letter con- 
tained any statement that the deceased had been driven to the 
act of self-dcbtruction by unjust accusations of mismanagement 
of his father's estate ; and denies that Mr. Lowell had made, or 
suggested, any proposal, or willingness, that the letter should be 
read by Mr. Pratt, except in replying to his request that he (Mr. 
Lowell) would have it with him at the inquest; that Mr. Low- 
ell assented to this, understanding that the jury would have the 
right to demand its production and perusal, if judged necessary; 
that he did produce it at the inquest, but that it was not read, 
or unfolded, the jury thinking it not necessary to require knowl- 
edge of its contents, excepting in some particulars relatim^ to 
the question of Mr. Boott's self-destruction, which were stated 
in the testimony of Mr. Lowell, " the minutes of which you 
have seen," referring to the official report,' — which I shall pres- 
ently exhibit. 

Mr. lioring goes on to say, that upon this statement of Mr. 
Lowell's, Mr. Pratt, the coroner, was sent for and inquired of by 
himself, as to what had passed, without any intimation to him of 
the object, and that Mr. Pratt, thereupon, made a statement, of 
which notes were taken at the time, and which Mr. Loring re- 
peats as follows. 

" Mr. Pratt said, 'that he had received three or four calls on 
this matter, from Mr. Dexter, Mr. Kobert C. Hooper, and others, 
and was asked, whether he had seen Mr. Boott's letter? that he 
answered, "that he did see it — that Mr. Lowell opened the 
letter in his presence, and read to him some extracts, or repeated 
some portions of it: — that the letter stated that he made Mr. 
Lowell his executor, gave some directions about the distribution 
of his effects, and alluded to the intention of self-destruction. — 
That they asked him, whether he had heard, or seen, any thing in 
the letter about Mr. Edward Brooks, and that he answered, no! 
That he had told them, that something had been heard by him 
about difficulties in the family, but he could not say whether he 



153 

got this idea from the letter, or not. That, at the inquest, the jury 
asked the coroner whether he had seen the letter, and he told 
them that it was opened in his presence ; that he then inquired 
of Mr. Lowell if the letter alluded to the suicide, and he said it 
did. — That at the inquest, Mr. Lowell stated, that Mr. Boott's 
accounts had been disputed, hut that they had been passed^ and 
he (Mr. L ) had supposed that his mind was relieved upon that 
point; — that he (Mr. B.) would have been entitled to a large 
sum on the decease of his mother. — That he (Mr. L.) had ad- 
vised Mr. Boott to retire into the country upon the sale of the 
mansion-house, and had offered to advance to him the means of 
building himself a place. And that he did not know of any re- 
cent cause of trouble. — That Mr. Dexter was mistaken in saying 
that he (Mr. P.) said that he saw, or heard, the greater part of the 
letter, — that it was a very long letter and very little was read to 
him. — And at the close of the conversation, he added, that he 
did not know, until this moment, that Mr. Brooks's name was 
mentioned in the letter ; and that Mr. Lowell had never men- 
tioned Mr. Brooks's name in his presence, excepting in reply to 
the question, 'who were the members of Mr. Boott's family?' — 
and has no idea now, whether the allusions are favorable, or un- 
favorable." 

Mr. Loring infers from this, that Mr. Dexter must have mis- 
apprehended Mr. Pratt, and suggests, that he (Mr. Dexter) may 
have confounded an assertion of Mr. Pratt's, that he might have 
seen the whole letter if he had choson, by reason of his official 
authority, with an idea that his ability to see it arose from an 
offer, or willingness, of Mr. Lowell's, to submit it voluntarily to 
his inspection. Mr. Loring concludes by stating, that he approves 
the reasons, suggested by Mr. Lowell, for not disclosing the letter 
to Mr. Brooks ; that Mr. Lowell, to his knowledge, had " sedu- 
lously endeavored to avoid getting entangled in the controversy 
in Mr. Boott's family, and to mitigate the excitement on either 
side, feeling a constantly expressed regard for all, and an unwill- 
ingness to hear the accusations of either ; " that, as the representa- 
tive of the deceased, he was now bound to pursue the course 
which respect and affection for his memory demanded, trusting 
that it would cause no farther uneasiness, or unkindness, on the 
part of those who might difTer from him in opinion ; and that 
Mr. Loring, himself, earnestly desired to conduct this matter, with 
an understanding that he and Mr. Dexter might act as the mu- 
tual friends of both parties. 

The reply of Mr. Dexter, dated March 13, 1845, as to the ac- 
curacy of his statement of what Mr. Pratt had said to him, 
was (after one or two hasty notes, of which he kept no copies), 
as follows : " I now state, in brief, that I am quite sure I re- 
ported Mr. Pratt correctly in substance, with the single doubt 
20 



154 

whether he said that Mr. Boott stated in terms that the unjust 
accusations against him had driven him to suicide, or whether 
those accusations were stated in such a connexion as to lead to 
that inference; if the latter was the case, it is a mere verbal dif- 
ference." He adds, " I have shown your letter to Mr. Brooks, 
and he thinks, in which opinion I concur, that it requires no 
answer on his behalf. On my own account I have a few words 
to add," &c. — which were to the effect that he must decline the 
office of mutual friend, in this matter. 

In connection with these statements, respecting the contents 
of the letter, and the use made of it by Mr. Lowell, it may be 
well to advert again to the testimony of the jurors on that point. 

Mr. Andrews does not speak on the subject. 

Dr. Palmer says, " Mr. Lowell produced a letter, and said he 
had received it that morning. I can't say whether he opened 
the letter, or not ; but he said it contained his will, and made him 
executor, and requested him not to think the worse of him for 
the course he had taken. He did not say that, in that letter, Mr. 
Brooks was charged with dishonesty, and Mrs. Lyman with 
being a spy over him in the house. My impression is, that he 
was asked if there was anything more in the letter which bore 
upon the case, and he replied there was nothing more. My im- 
pression was, that there vjas something more in the letter, from 
his not being willing to give it up." 

Mr. Learnard says, " He had a letter, which he said he had re- 
ceived that day, which he held in his hand. The coroner asked 
him if it contained anything except of a business nature, and he 
said that it did not, and the coroner said it need not be read. He 
did not say, that it contained anything about Mr. Edward 
Brooks being dishonest, or Mrs. Lyman being a spy in the 
house." 

Mr. Dyke says, only, that " a letter was produced by Mr. 
Lowell." 

Mr. Brown, the foreman, says, " Mr. Lowell produced a letter, 
which he said he had received that morning through the post-office, 
containing Mr. Boott's will, which had made him his executor. 
He read a part of the letter, which said that he, Mr. Boott, hoped 
that the method which he took to end his wretchedness would 
not lead Mr. Lowell to think the worse of him. I asked Mr. 
Lowell if there was anything else in the letter which bore upon 
the case 7 He said he had read all which related to it. I have 
been frequently on inquests. It has been invariably the case, 
that all papers, calculated to throw light upon the case, especi- 
ally those written soon before the death of the deceased, should 
be given up to the jury. I never before knew an exception. The 
fact of his not giving up the letter made an unfavorable impres- 
sion on my mind." 



155 

I refer also to a letter from Mr. Dexter to myself, (See App. 
No. 49,) respecting Mr. Lowell's admissions to him concerning 
the contents of the letter ; and to Mr. Dexter's letter to Mr. Low- 
ell on the same subject, (App. No. 46,) — and also to my own 
affidavit and Mr. Lowell's counter affidavit, in the Probate 
Court, (App. Nos. 50, 51,) — to be taken in connection with the 
statements of Mr. Lowell to Mrs. Lyman and Mr. Wm. Boott 
and myself, as above reported. 

Being wholly unable, myself, to reconcile all the conflicting 
statements, which are now brought together on the subject of 
this letter, I leave it for the present, and proceed to the circum- 
stances which next came to my knowledge. Mr. Dexter ob- 
tained for me the official report of the evidence at the inquest — 
a copy of which is annexed. (App. No. 42.) It will be ob- 
served, that Mrs. Lyman's testimony, as there recorded, is, " that 
the deceased, John W. Boott, is her brother, and that she resided 
with him; — has resided with him since March, 1844; — never 
has discovered anything like insanity in him^ This, of course, 
would give the idea, that she had been in the habit of seeing 
him constantly during the year, and so had means of forming an 
opinion respecting his state of mind. But, on examining the 
original, I found that a sentence, or part of a sentence, following 
this, was crossed out ; the words, however, were still sufficiently 
legible to see, that it was the beginning of a statement qualify- 
ing the last remark, and to the effect, that she had not seen her 
brother, or had any communication ivith him, during the whole 
year. On inquiry of Mrs. Lyman, I learnt, that, when she had 
made that statement, and was proceeding farther to show how 
little opportunity she had had of discovering marks of insanity, 
if it existed, (for, in truth, she had hardly seen her brother for 
many years), she was interrupted by a remark of Mr. Lowell's, 
that he supposed that irrelevant ; and, consequently, she forbore 
to speak of the conduct of the deceased towards herself, feeling 
that it would be discreditable to her brother's memory, (except 
as evidence of insanity), and being told that such matters need 
not be stated. The sentence, however, which she had begun, 
or a part of it, had been already written down by the foreman, 
and she requested, that, if it was immaterial, it might be left 
out. It was accordingly crossed out, and she proceeded as her 
testimony now stands in the report. If the inquiry thus opened, 
by the witness, had been pursued, instead of being suddenly 
stopped, and proper questions had been put to her, to draw out 
what she knew, she would have been obliged, though reluc- 
tantly, to state facts, concerning the conduct of the deceased 
towards herself, which every juror would probably have thought 
quite unaccountable, except on the idea of a partial insanity. 
All this, however, was shut out. 



156 

The next witnesses examined, were the two women. Ann 
O' Conner, who waited on Mrs. Lyman, appears to have testified, 
that, since March, 1844, "she had seen Mr. Boott, the deceased, 
every day, and had not discovered anything' uncommon in his ap- 
pearance.^^ Jane Christie testified, " that she lived with Mr. 
Boott, and did the work of the family — saw him every day — 
never discovered anything in his appearance indicating derange- 
ment of mind." Here the testimony of these witnesses appears 
to have stopped, except in relation to the lime and manner of the 
discovery of the death, and such circumstances as they had ob- 
served that morning, or the preceding night, connected with the 
event. About a month afterwards, the statements of these same 
witnesses were taken down in writing by Mr. Dexter, at the re- 
quest of Mrs. Lyman, as before mentioned. Those papers belong 
to Mrs. Lyman, and are in her own possession. I have no per- 
mission from her to annex copies, and indeed have not thought 
poper to ask it ; — I may take the opportunity to add that she 
has never seen these pages, and that no statement I make is 
made with her knowledge or concurrence. But, having seen 
the papers, I may properly state my own inference from them, 
that if the direction given to the inquiry, at the inquest, had been 
such as to elicit proof of derangement, rather than to ^hut it out, 
these witnesses would have testified to such extraordinary, unpro- 
voked, and unreasonable conduct of the deceased, towards Mrs. 
Lyman, as well as to the habit, which had so much grown upon 
him, of talking to himself so loudly as to be overheard, though 
not distinctly enough for them to know what he said, while he 
was entirely alone, both in the parlor and in his green house, 
that it must have been regarded, by persons capable of conceiv- 
ing a species of insanity short of that which requires restraint, 
probable evidence, at least, of a deranged mind. No such mat- 
ter, however, appears to have been stated, or asked for. 

The only other witness was Mr. Lowell himself. All that ap- 
pears of his testimony, in the official report, is as follows : — 
" John A. Lowell, Esq. being duly sworn, testifies that he has 
known the deceased since 3815, was in business with him in 
1822, and continued with him for two and a half years. De- 
ceased was in the habit of consulting with witness about his 
affairs more than any one else. Has not seen deceased for more 
than a week, has never discovered anything indicating insanity 
in the deceased. Received a note this morning, from Mrs. Ly- 
man, requesting him to proceed immediately to the residence of 
the deceased. Took Dr. Jackson, and found deceased lying 
dead on his bed, with a gun in his hands. Received a letter, 
about two o^ clock, through the post-office, from deceased, in which 
he alludes to the act which he was about to commit. Inclosed 
in the letter his will — made witness his executor — and gave 



157 

minute directions about the distribution of his effects. His age 
was about fifty-six." 

Nothing is recorded of the matters which the coroner himself 
declared to Mr. Loring, as stated by Mr. Lowell at the inquest, 
viz., " that Mr. Boott's accounts had been disputed, but that they 
had been passed, and he (Mr. Lowell), had supposed his mind 
relieved on that point; that he (Mr. Boott) would have been en- 
titled to a large sum on the decease of his mother ; tliat he 
(Mr. Lowell) had advised Mr. Boott to retire into the country 
upon the sale of the mansion-house, and had offered to advance 
him the means of building himself a place. And that he did not 
know of any recent cause of trouble." 

Still less is anything recorded of the more important matters 
of a contrary complexion, declared by the jurors to have been 
stated by Mr. Lowell, concerning a refusal of the heirs to give a 
deed of the house on the ground of Mr. Wright Boott's alleged 
mismanagement of the estate, and concerning the proof that, 
instead of loss and indebtedness by mismanagement, the ac- 
counts, as investigated and stated by Mr. Lowell himself, 
showed a clear balance due to him from the estate, of $25,000, 
for voluntary advances, and other like statements, leading them 
to the inference, that harsh and unfounded charges against him, 
by myself and others, had occasioned his death. 

These imperfections of the official report, may perhaps be ac- 
counted for by the fact stated by one of the jurymen, that " some- 
thing was said about those portions of the evidence relating to 
family -matters not being published." Who said it, does not 
appear — but the exclusion of the most material parts of Mr. 
Lowell's testimony seems to have been very complete. Neither 
does it appear, by the recollections of the witnesses, any more 
than by the report, that one word was said, by Mr. Lowell, of the 
matter he had stated to me that morning, respecting the con- 
duct of the deceased, within ten days, on the subject of the 
letter, and the visit to the post-ofiice, upon which occasion he 
behaved so unreasonably as to impress strangers with the be- 
lief that he was deranged ; nor of the fact, that there were per- 
sons, known to him, both in and out of the family, who had 
formed that opinion, and would testify, if called, in proof of it. In 
short, it appears, that no member, or friend, of the family, com- 
petent to direct the course of inquiry, except Mr. Lowell him- 
self, was present ; that all evidence tending to estabfish insanity 
was suppressed ; and that Mr. Lowell's own testimony left no- 
thing but the bare fact of the suicide, from which insanity could 
he inferred, while it suggested other causes which might ac- 
count for that fact. 

And here, again, it may be material to note some of the state- 
ments of the jurymen :— Mr. Andrews says, « It was proposed 



158 

by some one^ that in making up the verdict, we should have it 
embodied in the verdict^ that Mr. Boott ivas of sane mind. I 
would not undertake to say who it was that proposed it ; but the 
coroner objected to it. The question was not asked by me." 
Dr. Palmer says, " I do n't recollect of any one proposing that 
the verdict should state that this death was not caused by insan- 
ity. I do not recollect of proposing it myself." Mr. Learnard 
says, " It ivas proposed by some one, but not by me, that in 
making up the verdict we should embody in the verdict, that Mr. 
Boott was of sane mind. I do not know who proposed it." Mr. 
Dyke says, " My impression is, that it was proposed by some one, 
but it was not by me, that we should embody in the verdict, that 
Mr. Boott was of sane mind." Mr. Brown says, " I do n't re- 
collect whether any of the jury proposed to embody in the verdict 
the fact that he was an insane man. I don't recollect whether 
or not I proposed it." 

The proposal thus referred to by the jurymen was certainly an 
extraordinary one. The business of an inquest, I presume, is, 
to determine the fact, whether a violent death was caused by 
suicide, or not. Mr. Lowell's own counsel so states it in his let- 
ter above referred to. [See App. No. 47.] When the act of sui- 
cide is known to have been caused by insanity, it is usual, also, 
to find and state that particular excuse. But why should a cor- 
oner's jury be asked to lind, positively, that wo such excuse existed ? 
Who proposed it, is left in obscurity. But three of the five 
jurymen remember the proposal, and each of them recollects that 
it was not by himself. Each of the two others fails to recollect 
that it was proposed by himself, and, in fact, they do not recollect 
the proposal at all. But, would not the man who himself pro- 
posed it, be likely to recollect it? The coroner could not have 
proposed it, for according to Mr. Andrews, he objected to it. 
There was nobody else by whom it could have been proposed, 
except Mr, Lowell, or his brother. Dr. Putnam, the sixth jury- 
man. There was one other person present, a son of the late 
Mr. Kirk Boott, but I understand he took no part in the pro- 
ceedings. 

In this connection, the farther statement of Mr. Andrews de- 
serves to be borne in mind. 

" There was a question suggested by Mr. Lowell to three of the 
witnesses" (that is, all the witnesses besides himself), " as to 
whether they had seen any indications of insanity. The ques- 
tions were put by the coroner. It was my impression, from all 
I heard and saw, that Mr. Lotvelt ivas extremely anxious to have 
Mr. Boott made out a sane man. I remarked to Mr. Dyke, and 
I suppose I made the remark generally, that there was some- 
thing behind the curtain which we did not see ; and that we 
should probably hear more of this matter." 



159 

The only inference I have to draw is, that if any one had been 
present, who was " extremely anxious to have Mr. Boott made 
out" an insane man, there would have been no great difficulty, 
with proper pains, in accomplishing it. 

This inquest, and the communications with Mr. Lowell on 
the subject of the letter, were in March, 1845. In the following 
April, the further statements of the two female servants, who 
had been partially examined at the inquest, were taken down in 
writing by Mr. Dexter, as before stated. Three days after the 
inquest, Mr. Lowell filed his petition in the Probate Court, pray- 
ing that the will of Mr. Wright Boott might be proved and 
allowed [App. No. 45] ; but this petition was not brought to a 
hearing by him till the month of October in the same year, at 
which time the partial trial of the question of the testator's san- 
ity occurred, which has been already mentioned. That trial end- 
ed in my withdrawal from the case, after Mr. Lowell had refused 
to be examined as a witness, on the ground that he ivas an in- 
terested party, and after the Court had decided that it could not 
compel him, either to be a ivitness, or, as a party, to produce the 
letter in his possession, which it was my sole object in the trial 
to obtain a sight of Then followed Mr. Lowell's formal resig- 
nation of the executorship, upon notice of Mrs. Lyman's ap- 
pearance and intention to appeal from the decree allowing the 
will. In January, 1846, the appeal so taken by Mrs. Lyman, 
the real party in interest, was pending in the Supreme Court, 
and a new request was then made, by her counsel, to Mr. Low- 
ell, for a sight of the letter, with liberty to take a copy of it, as 
material to the preparation of her cause, which depended, solely, 
on the question of the testator's sanity, or insanity, in a legal 
point of view, and with reference to his testamentary disposi- 
tions. This Mr. Lowell declined, as will be seen by his note in 
the Appendix (No. 52), and thereupon the bill of discovery was 
filed by Mrs. Lyman against Mr. Lowell, as an adverse party, 
to compel the production of that paper. To this Mr. Lowell 
answered by interposing a special plea, to the effect that he was 
not bound to make the discovery sought, because he was no 
longer an interested party, having resigned his executorship, and 
parted with his legacy in favor of Mrs. Ralston — which remov- 
ed the impediment to his being examined as a witness, and 
being compelled in that capacity, to produce the letter at the ex- 
pected trial, if his plea to the bill of discovery should be held 
sufficient to excuse him from answering as a party. [See the 
plea, App. No. 53.] Thus matters stood in November, 1846, 
waiting a hearing in the Supreme Court upon the preliminary 
question whether Mr. Lowell was, or was not, bound to answer 
further to the bill of discovery, when Mrs. Lyman withdrew her 
appeal and discontinued the other proceedings, in the manner 



160 

and for the reasons above stated. The will being thus effectu- 
ally set up, as a valid will, in consequence of a voluntary aban- 
donment of the appeal by the sole appellant, Mr. Lowell there- 
upon presented a new petition to the Probate Court, asking 
leave to ivithdraiv /lis resignation of the executorship, on the 
ground that the reasons which had led him to renounce that 
trust no longer existed. This petition appears to have been sum- 
marily granted, and Mr. Lowell thereupon became duly quali- 
fied to act as executor [App. Nos. 54, 65]^ and was once more 
restored to the position of not being a witness because he was a 
party. 

During the whole period of these proceedings, the common 
reports to my disadvantage, alluded to in the outset, continued 
to prevail, with no avowed authority, or responsible source, to 
which they could be traced. But not long before this last 
movement of Mr. Lowell, I became, accidentally informed 
of the substance of his testimony at the inquest, not em- 
braced in the official report, and which had hitherto been con- 
cealed from me. If this information were correct, I thought 
I had discovered the true origin of those reports, and found it to 
be in accordance with previous suspicions which I could nox fix. 
What had been communicated by Mr. Lowell to a coroner and 
six jurymen, not sworn to secrecy, and in the hearing of a young 
member of the family who was a bystander, became, of course, 
known, in due time, to everybody — last of all, as usual in such 
cases, to the party injuriously affected by the statements. It was 
apparent to me, upon this information, connected with what I 
had heard less directly of Mr. Lowell's statements upon other 
occasions, that the public belief of these injurious rumors rested 
upon nothing substantial, except the confidence reposed in the 
weight of Mr. Lowell's opinions and in his supposed accuracy 
upon matters of fact, and especially matters of account. Con- 
sequently the correspondence occurred between Mr. Lowell 
and myself, which has been laid before the reader ; — the course 
of that correspondence led to the examination of the five jurymen, 
whose depositions have also been laid before the reader; — and 
their united statements, connected with the other facts above dis- 
closed, have driven me, very reluctantly, to this exposition of 
them, as the only course left to me, by Mr. Lowell, for my own 
vindication. 

The facts have now been fully narrated. Some part of 
them rests necessarily upon my own statement. But for much 
the larger and more important portions I am enabled to cite evi- 
dence from other sources. The papers I refer to are annexed — 
the witnesses of particular facts are named ; — and I must now 
ask the reader to consider how the case finally stands between 
Mr. Lowell and myself. 



161 

By our correspondence, it appears, that he denied having made 
any use of my name, in his testimony at the coroner's inquest. 

By the statements of the jurymen, it appears, that he was mis- 
taken in that. 

In the correspondence, he denies having expressed any opin- 
ions at the inquest, on certain subjects referred to. « 

By the statements of the jurymen, it seems, that such opinions 
were either expressed, or so plainly intimated that they could 
not be mistaken. 

Being appealed to in the correspondence, for distinct informa- 
tion to enable me to correct errors, if any had crept into his tes- 
timony, as 1 assured him must be the case if it had been rightly 
reported to me, he refused, positively, to inform me what matters 
were stated by him as facts, and whether what I had heard re- 
specting it was true or not. 

By the declarations of the jurymen, it appears, that he did state 
as facts within his own knowledge, all those matters which he 
was charged with having stated, and in respect of which he re- 
fused to answer my inquiries. 

The excuse put forth, for this reserve on his part, was not that 
he did not certainly know, or distinctly remember, what his " 'exact 
statements" were — he will not allow his refusal to rest on that 
ground — but because his position as a loitness ought, in his 
judgment, to protect him against such an inquiry. And here I 
beg to ask, what fair-minded witness, who had testified under 
no bias, and with no interest, or desire, but that ihe truth should 
prevail, would hesitate a moment to correct a mistake in his tes- 
timony, if it were shown to him, — or to afford a party, who 
conceived himself injured by it, an opportunity of showing him 
his mistake, in order that he might correct it, so far as might yet 
be in his power, — or to declare frankly, when asked /or ^/mi 
express purpose, whether he did, or did not, make certain state- 
ments ? 

Mr. Lowell, by assuming that position, left me no alternative but 
that which I have taken. He denies all obligation to account, 
as a gentleman, for any thing he may have said as a witness. 
He denies my right even to ask him what he did say, for the 
purpose of satisfying him, if possible, of its incorrectness, and 
procuring such explanations and amends as the case might justly 
require. He says, in effect, I know perfectly well what I testi- 
fied, but I shall give you no information about it, except that it 
was nothing you have any right to complain of. I said exactly 
what I intended, and no more than I was bound to say by the 
obligations of ray oath, — no more than you yourself must have said 
if you had been placed in my position. It is not possible that / 
can have committed any mistake. I will not allow that even to 
be questioned. I will not hear what you have to say upon the 
21 



162 

subject. Nothing you can state, or show, will satisfy me that T 
was in error; — if others have drawn wrong inferences, I shall 
do nothing to correct that — but however you may feel yourself 
aggrieved, and whatever you may show to justify the feeling, 
you will have neither aid, nor explanation, nor apology from me; 
for " I have been no party to the difficulties which have caused 
so much pain in Mrs. Bootl's family" — and "as there appears 
to exist no further reason for implicating me in any of the issues 
growing out of these difficulties, I must respectfully request to 
be excused from any further participation in them." 

Being thus repulsed and precluded from further attempts to 
rectify my position by amicable arrangement and mutual explan- 
ation — being in effect told that justice and reparation were not 
to be obtained at the hands of Mr. Lowell — nothing was left 
for me but to expose the truth concerning my own conduct and 
his, in order that our mutual friends might judge whether I de- 
served to stand, in their estimation, as I have stood, under the 
effect of Mr. Lowell's representations. For this purpose, I was 
compelled, in the first place, to prove, by others, what Mr. Low- 
ell's statements really were. 

It turns out, if those witnesses are to be believed, that it would 
have been well for Mr. Lowell to have been less confident in de- 
nying that he had connected me, personally and by name, with 
the subjects of his testimony, and less confident in his belief that 
he had refrained from giving to the jury the weight of his ow^n 
opinions, expressed, or suggested, — and I think it indifferent 
which, — concerning the impropriety and unreasonableness of 
the conduct of myself and others, in declining to execute a deed 
of the house, unless some other person than Mr. Wright Boott 
were to be the trustee of its proceeds, and concerning the effect 
of that conduct upon the deceased as a probable cause of his 
suicide, when connected with the declaration of Mr. Lowell's 
opinion, which he admits he gave, that the deceased was not 
afflicted with any kind or degree of insanity. 

If these were his honest opinions, and the expression or sug- 
gestion of them had been necessarily called for by the occasion, 
and no pains had been taken to shut out from the jury opinions 
of an opposite character, or facts lending to an opposite conclu- 
sion, in a controverted matter, I do not deny that he should 
be excused, as a mere witness, from further responsibility on 
that account, however erroneous his opinions may have been, 
or however much they may have differed from the opinions 
of others who had not the advantage of being witnesses in the 
case. Though, even in that event, I hold him not excused, as a 
gentleman, for ret"using to inform me what his testimony was, 
when asked for the declared purpose of enabling me to correct 
erroneous impressions produced by it to my serious detriment. 



163 

"" But it turns out also that he went farther. He did not merely 
give the jury to understand that these were his opinions, but 
undertook to state certain matters, with great positiveness, as 
facts luithin his own personal knoiv/edge, proving the cor- 
rectness of these opinions, and going to show a course of con- 
duct of myself and others towards the deceased, which, vpon the 
facts so state^l, and standing alone, was utterly indefensible. And 
this, connected with the careful exclusion of any evidence what- 
ever tending to show insanity in the deceased, and with his own 
strongly expressed opinion on that point, could not but lead the 
jury to infer, as they did, that the deceased had been driven to 
suicide, by proceedings of mine, oppressive, unjust, and inexcu- 
sable. 

Now it may be, that a witness, who testifies by compulsion, is 
not to be held responsible even for the truth of the facts which 
he states, provided he believes them to be true, and states all the 
facts within his knowledge material to the inquiry. But if he 
states, as positive facts, matters which are conjectural merely, and 
still more, if he states some facts, and omits to state others equally 
within his knowledge and of a contrary tendency, his character 
of a compulsory witness cannot shield him from just responsi- 
bility for all injurious consequences. And since Mr. Lowell 
claims the exemption of such a witness, he cannot complain of 
the application of that test to his testimony, as now disclosed. 

The matters which concern me, stated by him as facts within 
his own knowledge, were, in substance, according to the state- 
ments of the jurymen, that I had falsely charged the deceased 
with waste and mismanagement of property in his hands as 
executor or trustee, and had persisted, on that ground, in 
requiring him to surrender his trust, as the condition of my 
executing a certain deed, to perfect the title of an estate 
which he had contracted to sell in that capacity; — that Mr. 
Lowell himiself "had carefully investigated and made up the ac- 
counts of his executorship, and therefore personally knew that 
this charge was false and unfounded, since it appeared by the 
accounts, that the deceased, instead of having wasted the estate, 
had actually advanced, out of his own pocket, for the benefit of 
the heirs, $25,000 more than had ever come to him in his capa- 
city of executor ; and, — according to the coroner's recollection 
of his testimony, as stated in Mr. Loring's letter, without question 
of the fact on the part of Lowell, — that, although these accounts 
were disputed by me, they were nevertheless //a^se^ and allowed 
by the Judge of Probate ; — all which was connected with the fact, 
that he, Mr. Lowell, had known the deceased intimately for thirty 
years, and had never discovered any thing indicating insanity. 

Now my position is, that if these statements were not all ab- 
solutely true, in the same sense in which they would naturally 



164 

be understood by the jury, or if other facts of a contrary com- 
plexion, equally pertinent and material, and equally well known 
to Mr. Lowell, were suppressed, and one consequence has been 
a current slander founded upon, or deriving support from, these 
statements of his, he cannot, as a gentleman, escape the respon- 
sibility of standing father to that consequence, merely because 
he was a witness. 

How, then, does the case stand in this view ? 

I think I have shown satisfactorily, that the late Mr. Wright 
Boott, though acting with honest intentions and under good 
motives, had in fact mismanaged and wasted the family property 
in his hands to a very great extent, and had even hazarded its 
total destruction, by using it without the authority, consent, or 
knowledge of its owners, in his own speculations, and by neg- 
lecting and omitting all the ordinary duties of an executor, or 
trustee. I have shown that this was perfectly well known to me 
years ago, and, — which is more to the point, — equally well 
known to Mr. Lowell — but not stated by him to the jury, so far 
as appears by any account of his testimony. 

I think I have shown too, that Mr. Wright Boott's manner of 
conducting such business, his habits in pecuniary matters, his 
negligence of accounts, and his great peculiarities of character, 
whether he was of sound mind or not, in the eye of the law, 
coupled with his inability to respond for any considerable loss, 
and the want of proper sureties on his executor's bond, made 
him a very unfit depositary of trust property ; — and that all the 
facts leading to this inference were quite as well known to Mr. 
Lowell as to me, — and yet were not stated, so far as appears, to 
the jury. 

I have further shown, I think, that in 1844, when the question 
arose of placing a new fund in his hands, he was afflicted with 
a partial insanity, taking the direction of aversion to most of his 
kindred and connections, and so perverting Hiis judgment as 
greatly to add to his unfitness for the office of a trustee, — espe- 
cially for them. 

If the reader is still not fully satisfied that the strange conduct 
of this gentleman was fairly attributable to actual derangement 
of mind (which for his sake only 1 should much regret), it has 
at least been shown that there was probable ground to believe it 

— that it was in fact honestly believed by myself, and by others, 
not without some reasonable foundation — that Mr. Lowell him- 
self, however strong his belief to the contrary may have been at 
the time of his testimony, had previously considered the case 
sufficiently doubtful to have twice taken medical advice upon it 

— that he well knew the opinions of Mr. Wm. Boott and myself 
on that subject, and knew in general upon what facts they were 
grounded ; — that he also knew perfectly well by what witnesses 



166 

those facts could be proved — and knew himself at least one 
fact, of very recent occurrence, which had impressed the post- 
master with that belief, at an interview which he, Mr. Lowell, was 
personally present at, and which he had himself mentioned to me, 
that very day, as evidence of an excited state of mind. Yet noth- 
ing of all this ivas intimated to the jury, according to any report 
given, to qualify the force of his own declared opinion, — founded 
on the long and intimate acquaintance which he stated, — that the 
deceased was perfectly sane ; but, on the contrary, such was the 
course of his testimony and conduct at the inquest, as to make it 
manifest, to one, at least, of the jury, that he was " extremely 
anxious to have Mr. Boott made out a sane man." 

In respect to Mr. Lowell's alleged careful investigation of the 
accounts of the deceased, as a fact to show the unfounded char- 
acter of the alleged charges against him, it appears, by my own 
statement at least, and I call on Mr. Lowell to prove the contra- 
ry, that there were no accounts of his to examine, except the old 
probate account of 1818, — and even this was not so carefully 
examined, after all, but that its foot was taken by Mr. Lowell as 
evidence of cash invested to the amount of $116,000, when it in 
truth shows $106,000 only. The old accounts of Boott & Low- 
ell may also have been looked at, so far as was needful to ascer- 
tain the cash balance accounted for by that firm to the deceased. 
What other accounts could have been examined, I am at a loss to 
conjecture, unless they were Mr. Lowell's own accounts of a long 
series of transactions with or for the deceased, and the accounts of 
the Merrirnac and Boston Manufacturing Companies, to find what 
dividends they had paid. 

It was literally true, I admit, that Mr. Lowell had made up a new 
probate account for the deceased, purporting to embrace the ag- 
gregate receipts and disbursements of twenty-six years, and show- 
ing an apparent balance of $25,000 due from the estate to him ; 
it was true that this account was disputed by me, so far as declin- 
ing to admit it to be a true account may be spoken of as disput- 
ing it ; — and literally true that this same account was, afterwards, 
passed and allowed by the Judge of Probate. But it has been 
shown, I trust satisfactorily, that the account, as it is called, was, 
at best, but a conjectural statement of supposed results, and not a 
regular account; that, to a certain extent, it was a mere fiction ; that 
Mr. Wright Boott himself, for a long time, refused to adopt it, be- 
cause it made him out a creditor of the estate ; that it was finally 
accepted, on my part, not as a true account, but as the basis of 
a settlement by compromise merely ; that Mr. Lowell knew this, 
not only from the verbal statements of myself and my counsel, 
but that he had it in a letter under my own hand ; — and it is 
placed beyond doubt, that the account was passed and allowed 
by the Judge of Probate, not as a contested account, nor upon 



166 

examination of its contents and vouchers, but merely as a formal 
act, because no one objected, and because releases were filed from 
all parties interested ; and it is equally placed beyond doubt, that 
this acquiescence of all parties arose under and in pursuance of 
an agreement of compromise, made merely for the purpose of 
securing the remaining funds in the hands of a competent trustee. 
Yet not/ling- of all this appears to have been stated by Mr. Lowell 
to the jury, though perfectly well known to him ; but, on the con- 
trary, the account does appear to have been spoken of as an 
absolute, formal, and true account, passed and allowed by the 
Judge of Probate, under no peculiar circumstances, but in spite 
of my opposition to it, so as to become conclusive proof of the 
balance which it states. 

I trust I have also shown, by Mr. Wright Boott's own admis- 
sions — by the state of facts existing in 1830 and 1831 — by the 
release obtained from some of the heirs in 1833 — by his pledges 
of stock as executor, for his own personal debts, chiefly to Mr. 
Lowell himself, continuing up to the very time of the stating of 
the account — by the total absence of any thing to create a bal- 
ance, after 1833, in his favor — by the large appropriations of 
the income of his trust funds to the discharge of his own debts 
— and by numerous other circumstances above stated — that, 
upon a true account of his whole executorship, he was undoubt- 
edly a large debtor to his father's estate, instead of a creditor for 
$25,000, according to Mr. Lowell's account, and his testimony 
respecting it. Were not all, or nearly all, these facts known to 
Mr. Lowell ? Were any of them stated to the jury ? 

Putting the case in the most favorable aspect for Mr. Lowell, 
let it be admitted, that he had persuaded himself to believe, 
that, by the effect of the release of the heirs in 1833, or oth- 
erwise, the account did represent, substantially, a just and true 
approximate result, which the heirs ought to be satisfied with. 
But if so, why was the fact that such a result had been found 
brought before the jury at all ? For what, but to prove that my rea- 
son for refusing to execute a certain deed was founded in error, and 
to vindicate the deceased against the imputation of mismanage- 
ment of trust property, said to have been charged upon him by 
me, — to couple this with a description of the character of the 
deceased, — to suggest the probable effect of such a false charge 
on such a character, — to add the fact that he, his most intimate 
friend, had never seen any indication of insanity, — and there- 
by to lead the jury to infer, that the suicide could not have been 
from this latter cause, but that another probable cause was shown, 
in the ill treatment he had received from some of his nearest rela- 
tives and connections ? I am unable to perceive any other bearing 
the fact of the account, and the fact of the imputed mismanage- 



ley 

ment could have had on the subject of inquiry. Unless Mr» 
Lowell can show, therefore, that he was compelled to make these 
statements, by questions which particularly called for them, and 
which he was bound to answer, how can he shelter himself un- 
der the character of a witness ? How came he to be a witness ? 
Who summoned him? Who required him to state any thing 
about the settlement of the executor's accounts, or the question 
whether the deceased had managed his trust well or ill ? Why 
would not his conscience have been sufficiently discharged, if he 
had declared all he knew tending to show that the deceased died 
by his own hand, and if he pleased so to add, without the excuse 
of insanity, in his opinion ? Or, if he was compelled, by pointed 
inquiry, to discover the fact of the imputed mismanagement, and 
the fact of the account drawn up by himself, as proof that the 
imputation was unjust, why did he not also declare the other 
facts known to him which showed the real grounds of that im- 
putation, so far as it was imputed at all, and why did he not state 
hoiv the account was made up, and how it came to be passed 
and allowed — not as a contested account, but without objec- 
tion, for the sake of a quiet settlement, by those who did 
not admit it, as he knew, to be a just and true account? Or, if 
he himself considered it desirable^ in consequence of his own 
dealings with the executor, or from any other cause, that a coro- 
ner's jury should be satisfied that the suicide of his friend was 
the deliberate act of a sane man, goaded by unmerited persecu- 
tion, why did he not give due notice, to all parties interested, of 
the course he intended to take, so that the evidence on both sides, 
of such a collateral inquiry, might be fairly laid before the jury, 
rather than that they should be led to inferences resting wholly 
upon facts and opinions stated by himself, in the absence of 
those who could not but be grievously prejudiced by such state- 
ments, and whom he knew had a different set of interests, facts, 
and opinions to oppose to his ? 

In respect to the substantial propriety of the course I had actu- 
ally taken, I presume no unprejudiced reader will hesitate to allow, 
that, when the question was of adding $46,000, in cash, to the trust 
property already in Mr. Wright Boott's hands, it was the right of 
every person interested in that trust, and the duty of such of 
them as knew the facts which I knew, concerning his injudicious 
management of trust property, who believed him, besides, to be 
insane, and who were placed in a position which required them 
to do an act affecting not merely their own interests, but the 
interests of others not informed of the facts, and especially when 
standing, as I did, in the capacity of a trustee for the family of 
a deceased friend, to refuse their assent, except upon terms which 
would place the trust fund in reasonable security. And I hope 
it has also been made to appear, that my own refusal to execute 



168 

a deed of the house, until a new trustee was provided, in whom I 
could place confidence, was not only, in itself, justifiable and neces- 
sary (it certainly was in my own judgment), but that these matters, 
conducted almost wholly through counsel, and absolutely with- 
out a single interview with Mr. Wright Boott, or any direct com- 
munication to him from me, were not insisted on in a harsh or 
offensive manner, nor so as to produce any unnecessary irritation 
of a mind, sane or insane. 

If other persons, unacquainted with the true state of the facts 
and the nature of the question, and therefore considering my pro- 
ceedings harsh or unjustifiable, made communications to Mr. 
Wright Boott respecting them, which did produce needless irri- 
tation, I am not responsible for that. I have no reason to suppose 
that Mr. Lowell, who both knew the facts and was capable of 
appreciating my position in a business point of view, whatever 
his feelings or prejudices in the matter may have been, was indis- 
creet enough to make improper representations concerning me to 
Mr. Wright Boott ; if he did, he alone is' responsible for that, and 
all its consequences. 

But, whatever the fact maybe, as to the degree of irritation pro- 
duced in the mind of the deceased, necessarily, or unnecessarily, 
pending these proceedings, it has been shown that they were all 
completely terminated by a final settlement in December, 1844, 
pronounced by Mr. Lowell to have been satisfactory for all par- 
ties. Nothing occurred, afterwards, to disturb the tranquillity of 
a sane man. All the evidence known to me, of want of tranquil- 
lity, after that period, is inexplicable, except upon the delusions 
of insanity. It forced that conclusion upon persons to whom 
the deceased was an utter stranger, but who became witnesses 
of his excitement without a rational cause. 

The same evidence was known to Mr. Lowell. It was 
stated to me, by himself, as evincing causeless suspicions and 
unreasonable excitement. Why then does Mr. Lowell, in his 
testimony before the jury, omit all mention of that circum- 
stance, — declare that he had " never discovered anything indi- 
cating insanity in the deceased," — and suggest, if he did not 
in terms state, that the suicide was probably attributable to 
the unjust and oppressive conduct of myself and others, in a 
controversy which had terminated in a peaceful arrangement, 
virtually concluded three months before, and finally reduced to 
a Probate Record two months before the death, which was the 
subject of inquiry ? A subject of inquiry for what purpose, let 
me ask ? Simply to determine whether the deceased died by his 
own hand, or not. What duty was Mr. Lowell under, as a wit- 
ness, upon that issue, to go at all into remote and conjectural 
causes of the act of self-destruction ? What right had he to 
do so, unless for the purpose of excusing the act by proving in- 



169 

sanity ? And, if he did choose to go into the consideration of 
such possibilities, what adequate reason had he to impute the fact 
to a cause which had ceased to exist months before, without sug- 
gesting, but, on the contrary, excluding, the idea of insanity, as 
a probable means of accounting for so unreasonable an efl'ect 
at that distance of time ? 

Even then if Mr. Lowell had occupied the position, which he 
claims for himself in the correspondence, of a mere witness called 
to testify the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, 
relative to the matter then in hearing, I ask the reader to consider, 
whether his testimony was such, as a witness of his intelligence, 
and with his means of knowledge, should have given, under such 
circumstances ? But I also ask farther, whether he was a mere 
witness, or a witness by compulsion at all ? Was he not a volun- 
teer in that character ? And was he not also the effective mana- 
ger of the course of inquiry? 

Undoubtedly it is the duty of a coroner to direct such an 
inquiry as he thinks proper, so far as his office absolutely 
demands; which, in the language of Mr. Lowell himself, as 
stated through his friend and counsel, is, "to ascertain whether 
the deceased came to his death by his own hands, or those 
of another." [App. No. 47.J That is the whole public duty 
of the office. In respect to collateral matters, not necessarily 
involved in the discharge of that duty, the coroner no doubt 
may, and practically does, take a direction, as to the extent and 
course of inquiry, in accordance with the wishes of the family 
and friends of the deceased, whom those matters exclusively 
concern. Of this description, now-a-days, is the common in- 
quiry concerning sanity or insanity, — though it may have had its 
origin in certain antiquated usages, which formerly made it a 
public duty, but which are not sanctioned by the existing laws 
of Massachusetts. So far as it may be desired by the family^ and 
no farther, that inquiry is, now, commonly pursued, from regard 
merely to the memory of the deceased and the feelings of friends, 
to find for them, if possible, the consolation of insanity. Who ever 
heard, in any other case under the present law, of an actual pro- 
posal entertained, that the jury should embody in their verdict 
that the man was sane and his suicide without excuse ? 

But it is plain, from what has been stated, that Mr. Lowell was 
present, not as a summoned witness, but, as the common repre- 
sentative of the family, to guide and govern the course of proceed- 
ings. He was my representative, especially, after the conversation 
that had occurred between us, in which, from motives of delicacy, 
I expressed my preference not to be present, confiding entirely in 
Mr. Lowell as my friend, to act for me in that behalf, without 
notice, or suspicion, of his intended course. He was the repre- 
sentative also, especially, of Mr. William Boolt, proceeding as 
22 



170 

he did in his absence and without notice to him. That gentle- 
man, the nearest male relative of the deceased in this country, 
was entitled, before all others, to be present, if he pleased, on such 
an occasion, and to direct, in conjunction with the coroner, the 
course of proceedings. He was expected to arrive in town, as 
Mr. Lowell knew, and did arrive, at six in the afternoon. But 
Mr. Lowell, in conjunction with the coroner, had caused, or 
permitted, the inquest to be holden at four; and Mr. Wm. 
Boott was ignorant even of the death, till after nine in the eve- 
ning, when he learnt it from me, and not from Mr. Low- 
ell, who had promised me either to meet him, or to send a 
special messenger to meet him, at the cars, in order that he 
might have the earliest possible notice. 

Now I ask the reader to consider, whether, if either Mr. Wil- 
liam Boott, or myself, had been present at that inquest, the 
testimony would have been given which was given? Or if it 
had been, whether it would not have met with immediate contra- 
diction, in some particulars, and with such counter statements 
as would have totally altered its effect? If it would, I ask him 
to consider with what fidelity the duty, voluntarily undertaken, of 
representing us on that occasion, was discharged by Mr. Low- 
ell ? And in this connection let it be borne in mind, that, after 
the testimony was delivered, " something was said," as Mr. Lear- 
nard declares, "about those portions of the evidence relating to 
family matters, not being- piiblished" — and that, in point of fact, 
they were all suppressed in the official report, and never reached 
my ears, nor those of Mr. William Boott, until a year and a half 
after, although the rumors that grew from them spread in all di- 
rections, immediately upon the conclusion of the inquest. 

That those family matters should not be published to the 
world, without necessity, was undoubtedly a very wise and 
proper suggestion; — but one which would have been best 
effected by not bringing them, unnecessarily, before a coroner's 
jury. And since Mr. Lowell was the common representative of 
the family on that occasion, and certainly did not truly represent 
the feelings, wishes, or interests of Mr. William Boott and my- 
self, it seems pertinent to ask, ivhose interest or desire it was, 
among all the family and friends of the deceased, to have the 
fact established, that Mr. Wright Boott was under no influence 
of insanity when he desXroyed his own life? — or, to have the 
question, whether he was or not, mooted at all, unless with the view 
of finding, in tenderness to his memory, that he was not in his 
right mind ? — or, to have it suggested that a different cause 
might be found, apart from insanity, in the imputed misconduct 
towards him of certain brothers and sisters, — so as to throw all the 
odium of the suicide upon them ? 

Mr. Lowell, as the common friend of all parties interested in 



171 

the sad event, had the entire power to call, or cause to be called, 
such witnesses as he pleased before the coroner. He knew of 
witnesses who would state facts likely to establish insanity. Not 
one of them was called. The women in the house were exam- 
ined, and the questions put to them by the coroner respecting 
insanity, it appears from one of the jurymen, were suggested by 
Mr. Lowell. What they might have testified also appears from 
their written statements, afterwards taken down by Mr. Dexter. 
Mrs. Lyman, without any notice to her of the existence of a 
will, then in Mr. Lowell's possession, cutting her off from any 
share of her brother's properly, was used as a witness to establish 
the sanity of the testator, and stopped, by him, from testifying 
what would have had a contrary tendency. Mr. Lowell then, 
in effect, calls himself to the stand, to testify as he did, in the 
absence, and without the knowledge of those whose reputations 
were assailed, and who, though close at hand, are not called to 
be heard in their defence. And thereupon the proceedings are 
closed — the suggestion is made of not publishing these family 
matters — a report is accordingly returned which exhibits none 
of them ; — and thus these " family matters" are not only not pub- 
lished at large, except by private circulation, but no notice is 
given, in any form, of what had been done, or said, to those 77iem- 
bers of the family who were deeply concerned in the suppressed 
testimony, and seriously injured by its effects. I leave it then to 
the reader to determine, whether I have, or not, " a right to com- 
plain" of this testimony — and whether Mr. Lowell did, in truth, 
occupy the irresponsible position which he claims, of a mere 
witness; or whether he did not raiher take that of a mere partisan; 
and whether he was not industrious to prevent a finding of insan- 
ity, regardless of the consequences of suggestions made by him- 
self, for that end, to the reputations of absent persons who had 
confided in him, and from whom the fact, that any such sugges- 
tions had been made, was studiously concealed ? 

I inquire further, whether he had not, unknown tome, made him- 
self a party to the controversy long before, by his letters to Tion- 
don, and by his statements to members of the family here, con- 
veying erroneous impressions concerning Mr. Wright Boott's 
management of the family funds, and by his making up the ac- 
counts as he did, and inducing Mr. Wright Boott reluctantly to 
adopt them ? Was not the belief, which grew up in the family, 
that there was no just ground for the course taken by Mr. Wil- 
liam Boott and myself to secure the family property, and that Mr. 
Wright Boott was made the victim of a spiteful persecution, 
thus mainly attributable to him ? Have his statements concern- 
ing the executor's accounts and the balance claimed to be due 
as the result of his own investigations, and concerning the un- 
founded charges of mismanagement, and impuled harsh conduct 



172 

of Mr. William Boott and myself towards the deceased, been 
confined to his testimony, as a witness at the inquest? Have 
Ihey not been voluntarily made at other times and to other per- 
sons ? And is not the belief which has grown up to our preju- 
dice in this matter, in the public mind, and among persons out of 
the family, whose good opinion we esteem, fairly attributable to 
these statements and this testimony of Mr. Lowell ? What is to 
be said of his assertion, that I had formerly considered Mr. 
Wright Boott perfectly justifiable in using the funds of his 
father's estate in the business of the Iron Foundry, and that he 
had seen a letter of Mr. Kirk Boott's, that would prove it ? What 
of his assuming in my name, as well as his own, to execute a 
release of our joint claim on the executor as trustees for the family 
of Mr. Kirk Boott, without authority from me, and without my 
knowledge, and after I had positively declined being in any way 
instrumental in releasing any claims which I held as a trustee 
for others? And what of his general course of dealing with 
me relative to the inquest, taking in connection our interview 
two hours before, his conduct and testimony at the inquest, and 
his whole conduct respecting the letter, which Mr. Wright Boott 
had written on the night preceding his death ? 

The conversation at the interview referred to, it has been seen, 
was such as to put me entirely off my guard concerning the 
course afterwards pursued at the inquest, and to induce the con- 
fidence reposed by me in Mr Lowell's friendly management of 
that unpleasant duty. It gave me also to understand, as clearly 
as if it had been stated in terms, that the letter he spoke of was 
not a letter addressed to him. Now I shall not undertake to state 
positively, because I am not informed, except by the various 
statements, somewhat conflicting, which have been laid before 
the reader, at what precise moment of time that letter actually 
came to the hands of Mr. Lowell. What I know is, that I 
left him seeking the coroner, for the purpose of procuring 
an inquest, and left him at the door of the coroner's office, at 
or just after, two o'clock, under the assurance of his statement 
just made to me, that a letter from the deceased was sup- 
posed to have been put into the postoffice, the night preceding, 
for somebody, but that it was not knovm to whom it was address- 
ed, nor, as yet, that it had been received by anybody. And of 
course I knew, that, had it been addressed to him, a man of his 
business habits must, in the ordinary course of postoffice deliv- 
ery, have received it several hours before our interview. It next 
appears distinctly that this same letter was in fact addressed 
to Mr. Lowell, and that it was produced by him to the coroner, 
at the time when Mr. Lowell called upon him for the purpose 
above stated. 

I do not rely on the statements of the coroner alone for 



X73 

this, because he appears to have made different statements at 
different times respecting that letter, in some particulars, though 
not, that I am aware of, on the point now referred to. Nei- 
ther do I rely wholly on the statement of either of the jury- 
men, as to the time of the reception of the letter, since they differ, 
naturally enough, on a slight circumstance not calculated to ex- 
cite their attention, as to whether Mr. Lowell testified that he 
had received it " that morning-" or " that dap." The official report, 
being written down at the time, is better evidence, so far as it 
goes, and in relation to all such matters as were not intended 
to be left out. That document reports Mr. Lowell as saying, 
that he received it ^^ about two o'clock, through the postoffice;" 
and it was just about two o'clock, I think a little after, when I 
parted from him. But I think I may rely safely on his own 
admission in the correspondence, on that subject, except so far 
as it may be qualified by other statements of his. 

Mr. Dexter writes to Mr. Lowell, " I have learned from the 
coroner that Mr. J. W. Boott's letter was exhibited by you to him, 
when you called on him to procure an hiquest to be holden ; " — and 
he then proceeds to state what the coroner said respecting its 
contents. Mr. Lowell, answering through his counsel, Mr. Loring, 
says, that the contents were incorrectly reported, and that only 
certain portions of them were read by him to the coroner, and 
that he promised the coroner to produce the letter again at the 
inquest — but he does not pretend to deny that the letter was 
produced by him to the coroner, at the time stated by Mr. Dexter. 
On the other hand, I understood him, that evening, to state, that 
the letter was brought to him, at his own house, after vje parted. 

But whether he received it, between the time of my leaving 
him at the coroner's door and the time of his first seeing the 
coroner, or had received it previously, or found it at his own 
house afterwards, and then went again to seek the coroner, 
is not in my view very material. He had, at any rate, given me 
the impression that the letter was not for him, when he stated 
that it was not known to whom it was addressed, without 
suggesting any reason why his own letters, through the post- 
office, should have failed to reach him before that hour of the 
day. I ask, then, whether, if he did receive the letter imme- 
diately after we separated, and that letter was found to contain a 
will affecting my rights of property, in common with those of 
others in the family, it was not his duty, as a friend and a gentle- 
man, before taking any farther steps towards an inquest which he 
did not intend should result in a verdict of insanity, to have given 
me immediate notice of the fact of his reception of such a 
letter, and such a will ? It may be very true that my own share 
of the pecuniary interest involved was not so large as to have 
affected materially my course of action. But what right had 



174 

Mr. Lowell to assume to judge of that for me ? — or to prevent 
my interposing, as I might think proper, in behalf of others, 
whose interests were involved ? What right had he to act 
upon a notice of my desire not to be present at the inquest, 
when a material alteration had occurred, to his knowledge, in 
the state of facts upon which that desire was expressed, with- 
out first giving me notice of that change of circumstances, and 
of his oivn intention to do what he could towards establishing 
the sanity of the testator, so far as it was to be affected by the 
result of an inquest? 

Tn respect to the contents of the letter, with the exception of the 
will itself which it is said to have enclosed, we have no knowledge, 
— except upon the statements of Mr. Lowell, who assumes the 
right (and it may be his legal right) to make known as much, or as 
little of them, as he pleases, and to what persons he pleases. He 
either shows the letter, or reads portions of it, to the coroner. He 
produces it again at the inquest, but does not put it into the hands 
of the jury, for them to judge of. He thinks it enough for the 
jury that he himself should state, on his own authority, what it 
does, and what it does not contain, or should read from it such 
passages as he thinks proper to select, with the assurance of his 
own opinion, that it contained nothing more that bore upon the 
case (as Dr. Palmer states), — or that it did not contain any 
thing, except of a business nature — (as Mr. Learnard states). 
Yet the case, as he presented it to the jury, was one which 
included every thing concerning the question of insanity ; and it 
appears, by Mr. Lowell's statements to different persons at differ- 
ent times, that the letter does contain charges against me, more or 
less serious, and does purport to be a narrative, more or less co- 
herent, of the dissensions in the family, and of events leading the 
writer to form the intention of taking his own life, and so open- 
ing the ivay for proof of his insane delusions. Why then should 
not the letter, if it was to be used or alluded to at all, have been 
laid before the jury, so that they might have followed up, if they 
pleased, the inquiries it suggested? If the answer is, because 
it was, in Mr. Lowell's judgment, inexpedient to publish, even to 
the jury, these family matters, the question then is, how came it 
to be expedient, nevertheless, so to publish a part of them, with- 
holding the rest, and that part all that was injurious to certain 
absent members of the family ? And who constituted Mr. 
Lowell the sole and exclusive judge, amongst the family, on these 
delicate subjects? 

Whether the letter does, or does not, contain the allegation 
that the writer " had been driven to the act of self-destruction 
by unjust accusations of mismanagement of his father's es- 
tate," or " whether those accusations were stated in such con- 
nection as to lead to that inference," is a matter which I leave 



175 

for the reader to determine, as well as he may, after examining 
the correspondence on that subject ; but, upon the statements 
of the coroner to Mr. Dexter, and the statements of the jurymen 
in their depositions, it is not left doubtful, that Mr. Lowell, 
through the letter and his own testimony together, did convey, 
both to the coroner and to the jury, the impression that such was 
the fact. It is not left doubtful, that Mr. Lowell, while I was 
yet ignorant of any other testimony from him than appeared in 
the official report, declared to me and to others that the letter did 
contain a charge of dishonesty against me, and a charge that I 
kept Mrs. Lyman in the house with the deceased as my spy^ and 
that Mr. Lowell asserts these to have been the charges of a sane 
man, and that he notwithstanding refused to permit me, or any 
one acting in my behalf, to see the letter, on the ground that it 
did not affect his own opinion, and had not been, nor would be, 
seen by others. Neither is it doubtful, that he had, nevertheless, 
either shown, or partially read that same letter to the coroner, in 
private, and had also either read, or stated, some of its contents, 
to the jury ; — nor, is it doubtful that I should have had a right,, 
if I had been present at the inquest, to have seen the letter there, 
and that Mr. Lowell avails himself of my absence, under the 
circumstances stated, to refuse me, afterwards, that which would 
have been a mere right at the time. It is equally plain, that the 
impressions above mentioned were conveyed to the coroner and 
jury, and of course from them to others, either by the letter, or by 
Mr. Lowell's statements, or both ; and that Mr. Lowell, while I was 
yet ignorant of these things, and only apprehensive of possible ill 
consequences from any uncontradicted charges which the letter 
might contain, refused me even the poor justice of putting in 
writing his own declared opinion of their insignificance, that I 
might use it, if needful, for my own vindication, unless, not only 
myself, but Mr. William Boott also, would, in exchange for that 
courtesy, agree to sell him, in his capacity of executor of the de- 
ceased, a valuable right, by stipulating that we would not seek 
to establish the insanity of the deceased, in opposition to the 
probate of a will which it was both our right and our interest to 
oppose and contest, if we saw fit. And it is worthy of remark, 
that this condition was made before the idea of using that op- 
portunity to try the question of Mr. Wright Boott's sanity had 
been suggested by anybody else ; and indeed before it had even 
occurred to myself, or, I presume, to Mr. Wm. Boott. 

And upon what principle does Mr. Lowell refuse either to 
show me the letter in private, or to produce it as evidence upon 
the point of insanity, in a question of property, between sisters 
of the deceased? The reason assigned is, because the matters, 
contained or alluded to in it, were communicated to him in the 
confidence of friendship, under circumstances which make them 



176 

a sacred trust, — so sacred, that he feels himself justified to evade 
their disclosure, when called as a witness^ by claiming the exemp- 
tion of a party in interest, — and as soon as the trial is over, 
parting with his interest, so as to be able to plead, when called 
upon as a party, by a Bill of Discovery, that he is not a party, 
but may be a witness. Yet the worst charges, in a family point 
of view, which the letter can probably have contained, are, through 
the instrumentality of Mr. Lowell, blown to the four winds, by his 
testimony at the inquest, published just sufficiently to do all its 
mischief, and yet concealed from me, and that in violation of 
the confidence of friendship which I had been led to repose in 
him respecting that inquest. 

The case between us then lies briefly thus : I am charged with 
conduct so unjust and oppressive as to drive a near connection to 
suicide ; and that charge, through Mr. Lowell's means, becomes 
notorious. I am told that the charge lies partly in a letter of the 
deceased, and partly in the unpublished testimony of Mr. Low- 
ell. When first informed of charges against me in the letter, I 
request Mr. Lowell to show me the letter, that I may know pre- 
cisely with what I am charged, and be enabled either to prove it 
to be an insane production, or to show that the charges are false. 
But I am told, the sacredness of friendship will not permit it, and 
that I must submit to Mr. LowelVs opinion, that there is no insan- 
ity in it ; and be satisfied with the assurance, that the charges, 
though perfectly sane, produce no effect upon him. When I hear 
of testimony from Mr. Lowell differing from the official report, I 
request him to inform me, as a gentleman, what his testimony 
before the jury was. But I am told, I have no right even to 
make the inquiry, because he was a mere witness, bound to tes- 
tify as he did, under the solemnities of an oath, and that it is 
enough for me to know that there was nothing in it, in his judg- 
ment, that I have any right to complain of I say to hira, in effect, 
there has been a mistake in this matter somewhere, grievously in- 
jurious to me, which I can set right if I have the means ; will you 
aid me in doing so, and prevent the necessity of ulterior meas- 
ures for that end ? He answers, — Not at all ; there has been no 
mistake — all I said was just what I intended — take your 
own course — I shall do nothing to aid you. But, I suggest, you 
compel me then, to hold you responsible for what you have said 
and its consequences, and to make it appear by adverse means. 
The answer is, I am nowise responsible ; I was a mere witness 
— I have never been a party to these proceedings — I shall re- 
tract nothing — I shall concede nothing — I shall explain no- 
thing — I leave you to right yourself as you can. 

Let the reader, then, decide, whether the whole issue in 
this matter is not between Mr. Lowell and myself; — whether 
he has not been a principal party throughout these proceedings ; — 



177 



whether ihey have not been deeply injurious to me ;— whether 
he does not, m effect, require me to submit to his judgment re- 
spectmg the state of the accounts of the late Mr. Wright Boott — 
to his iudgment respecting his sanity -to his judgmeni respect- 
ing the contents of the letter of the deceased ~ to his judgment 
respectmg his own exemption from responsibility in the matter — 
to his representation of these affairs according to his own will 
and pleasure — and to all the ill consequences with which thev 
have been attended ;-whether, in so doing, he has not presumed 
upon my extreme reluctance to publish the private history in 
which my defence hes, and upon my supposed inability to pro- 
duce proof sufficient to overcome the weight of his assertions ;- 
and whe her he has left me, at last, any alternative, except to sub- 
wMnh ? r""^ to the continued obloquy and ill opinion under 
which I have suffered for three years, in consequence of what he 
has done and said, or else to expose, as I have done, not to the 
pubhc at large, but to those of my own friends who may have 
been misled, the real facts of this extraordinary case. 

R„„. /-, ^ , ^ -.-,4« Edward Brooks. 

Jioston, October 1, 1847. 



NOTE 



Two errors, affecting the sense, occur in the Appendix • 
.ffl "^'.°V^^,^^' ^^7j^ich six seals, instead of five, appear to have been 
a^ed to the Release of December 9, 1844, has been alrea^d^y noticed 
bottom to^S Sf. ^.^P"^" ^^- . \ ^ .transposition of two Unes, from the 
of Mr WrSht Ro.<5, -^^P'^'' ^^ ^^^'^^"^ of Probate is made to attest one 
ofT.' pln£/ 7)^ »P"^^*^ ''^^^'P*' *° "^«' ^ " a true copy from the Records 
o{ iLsamlni. Tl^^t certificate belongs to the document next below 
^dothei^ page, -being Document No. 14,-"Release from Kirk Boot 



23 



APPENDIX. 



LIST OF DOCUMENTS 

REFERKED TO BY THEIR NUMBERS. 



Page. 
No. 1. Will and Codicil of Kirk Boott, senior, proved January 20, 1817, 5 
" 2. Consent of Mary Boott and others, to appointment of J. W. Boott 

as sole Executor, January 19, 1817, - - - - 10 

Executor's Bond, 11 

Letters Testamentary, January 20, 1817, - - - - 12 
Inventory, filed by the Executor, January 12, 1818, - - 13 

Executor's First Probate Account, passed May 11, 1818, - 14 

Letter — K. Boott to E. Brooks, February 8, 1826, - - - 15 
Letters — same to same, in 1830, 1831, and 1832, - - - 16 
Deed— W. Lyman and wife to J. W. Boott, September 21, 1831, 22 
Declaration of Trust, by E. Brooks, May 23, 1831, - - 23 

Deed — J. W. Boott to J. W. Boott, Executor, May 26, 1831, - 24 
Letter — J. W. Boott to E. Brooks, November 22, 1831, - 26 

Receipts — from J. W. Boott, 1831-4, 26 

Release — Kirk Boott, and others, to J. W. Boott, April 14, 1833, 28 
Letter — Kirk Boott to E. Brooks, May 10, 1833, - - - 29 
Extracts from Transfer Books of the Merrimac Manufacturing Co. 29 
Extracts from Transfer Books of the Boston Manufacturing Co. 32 
Extracts from a correspondence between W. Wells and W. 

Boott, December, 1843, 33 

Extracts from letters of Dr. Francis Boott, - - - - 34 

Release — Dr. Francis Boott to J. W. Boott, May 29, 1844, - ,37 
Release — Mrs. Boott to same, May 29, 1844, - - - - 38 
Letter — W. Boott to J. W. Boott, June 3, 1844, - - - 39 
Letter— C. G. Loring to W. Boott, June 5, 1844, - - - 40 
Letter— W. Boott to J. A. Lowell, June 22, 1844, - - 40 

Letter — J. A. Lowell to W. Boott, June 24, 1844, - - - 41 
Will of John Wright Boott, dated September 9, 1 844, - - 41 
Letter — W. Boott to C. G. Loring, November 7, 1844, - - 42 
Letter— C. G. Loring to W. Booft, November 9, 1844, - 43 

Executor's Second Probate Account, November 18, 1844, - - 43 
Release — E. Brooks, and others, to J. W. Boott, December 9, 

1844, 45 

Letter — Mrs. E. Brooks to Mrs. Boott, December 11, 1844, - 46 
Letter — Mrs. E. Brooks to Mrs. K. Boott, November 3, 1844, 49 
Letter — E. Brooks to J. A. Lowell, Dec. 17, 1844, - - - 50 
Letter— C. H. Warren to E. Brooks, December 19, 1844, - 51 
Executor's Third Probate Account, December 23, 1844, - - 52 



« 


3. 


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4. 


tl 


5. 


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6. 


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7. 


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8. 


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9. 


u 


10. 


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11. 


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12. 


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13. 


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14. 


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15. 


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16. 


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17. 


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19. 


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20. 


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21. 


11 


22. 


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31. 


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32. 


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35. 



No. 36. Inventory, filed by C. G. Loring, Trustee, December 23, 1844, 53 
" 37. Letter — E. Brooks to J. A. Lowell, Jan. 31, 1845 - - - 55 
" 38. Letter — J. A. Lowell to E. Brooks, Jan. 31, 1845, - - 56 

" 39. Letter — Same to Same, Jan. 31, 4845, 56 

" 40. Release — Mary Boott and others, to J. W. Boott, February 1, 

1845, 57 

" 41. Letter — E. Brooks and W. Boott to C. G. Loring, February 5, 

1845, 57 

" 42. Official Report of the Evidence at the Coroner's Inquest, Mar. 7, 

1845, 58 

" 43. Letter — E. Brooks to J. A. Lowell, March 9, 1845, - - - 59 
"44. Letter — J. A. Lowell to E.Brooks, March 9, 1845, - - 59 
" 45. J. A. Lowell's Petition for Probate of J. W. Boott's Will, March 

10, 1845, .-60 

" 46. Letter— F. Dexter to J. A Lowell, March 11, 1845, - - 60 

"47. Letter— C.G. Loring to F. Dexter, March 12, 1845, - - 61 
" 48. Letter — F. Dexter to C. G. Lorinsj, March 13, 1845, - - 64 

" 49. Letter — F. Dexter to E. Brooks, September 14, 1845, - - 64 

" 50. Affidavitof E.Brooks, October 28, 1845, 65 

" 51. Affidavitof J. A. Lowell, October 28, 1845, - - - - 67 
" 52. Letter — J. A. Lowell to W. H. Gardiner and S. Bartlett, Jan- 
uary 17, 1846, 69 

" 53. J. A. Lowell's Plea to Bill of Discovery, March 26, 1846, - - 69 
" 54. J. A. Lowell's Petition for withdrawal of his resignation of the Ex- 
ecutorship, December 14, 1846, 70 

" 55. Letters Testamentary, issued to J. A. Lowell, December 14, 1846, 71 
" 56. Letter— E. Brooks to J. A. Lowell, July 8, 1847, - - - 72 



APPENDIX. 



NO. I. 

•Will and Codicil op Kirk Boott, Senior, 
Proved and allowed Jan. 20, 1817. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 
Boston, November the twentieth, in the year of our Lord one thou- 
sand eight hundred and thirteen, I, Kirk Boott, make this my last 
will and testament, viz. : 

I give and bequeath mourning to all the servants who may be 
living in my family at the time of my decease, which, with the ex- 
penses of my funeral, I order to be paid out of my personal estate 
— ■ the mourning to be given at the entire discretion of my beloved 
and exemplary wife, Mary Boott. I give and bequeath to my sis- 
ter, Elizabeth Boott, of Derby, in the kingdom of Great Britain, and 
her heirs, all my share, right, and interest, and also those shares, 
rights, and interest, which 1 have or may become possessed of, by 
purchase or otherwise, of and in the house, situated in King Street, 
Derby, aforesaid, in which my said sister now resides ; but, if she 
should demise without heirs, I give and bequeath the above-men- 
tioned rights and interest, in the said house, to my sister, Ann Boott, 
of said Derby. I bequeath five thousand five hundred fifty-five 
dollars and fifty-six cents, to he placed out at interest, on good secu- 
rity, the interest money on which, as it shall accrue, I give to my 
said sister, Elizabeth Boott, for and during the term of her natural 
life. I bequeath five thousand five hundred and fifty-five dollars 
and fifty-six cents, to he placed out at interest, on good security, the 
interest money on which, as it shall accrue, I give to my said sister, 
Ann Boott, for and during the term of her natural life. I bequeath 
one hundred thousand dollars, to he placed out at interest, on good 
security, the interest money on loliich, as it shall arise, I give to 
my said wife, Mary Boott, for and during the term of her natural 
life, for the support of her, the support of our minor children, and for 
the educating of them, until they each shall arrive at twenty-one 
years of age. At this time, Mary, James, Elizabeth, Ann, and Wil- 
liam, are minors. 1 appoint my Executors to this will. Trustees, for 



6 

the investment of the moneys of the three above-mentioned lega- 
cies, to receive the interest, and to pay it as devised, to my sisters 
Elizabeth and Ann, and to my wife, Mary Boott. I bequeath to my 
said wife, Mary Boolt, the use of the house which I have lately 
built, situated in Bowdoin Square, in this town, with the out-build- 
ings and garden appurtenant thereto, for and during the term of her 
natural life, without any consideration for rent whatever, she keep- 
ing the same in good repair. I give and bequeath to my said wife, 
Mary, all my household furniture, plate, watches, wines and liquors 
of all sorts. I give and bequeath to my son, John Wright Boott, all 
that certain piece of land, and the store built thereon, in which we 
do business, situated in State Street, in this town, and the strip of 
land situated east of William Pratt's store, as expressed in the deed 
dated February 24, 1808. I give and bequeath lo my said son, John 
Wright, my share in the Boston Athenaeum, so called, established 
in this town, in consideration of his good conduct, which has ever 
been satisfactory to me. The tnoney legacies which 1 have be- 
queathed are to be paid out of the proceeds of the mortgages, bonds, 
notes, accounts, merchandise, cash, shares in incorporated compa- 
nies, except the sliare in the Boston Aihenseum, and stock in ]mblic 
funds, which I may die possessed of. The residue of the above 
mentioned property, I give and bequeath to my children, Frances, 
John Wright, Kirk, Francis, Mary, James, Elizabeth, Ann, William, 
and each and every child who maybe hereafter born unto me, being 
alive at my demise, namely : supposing the amount to be nine thou- 
sand dollars, as I have now nine children, each child shall have one 
thousand dollars. If 1 should leave ten children, then to suppose it 
to be ten thousand dollars, and increasing this amount in supposition, 
one thousand dollars for each child more than ten, so that each child 
shall have one thousand dollars bequeathed to him or her, and each 
in this proportion, be the amount more or less ; but the jyroportional 
part bequeathed to each child ivho may be minors at my demise, 1 
leave to be placed out at interest, on good security ; that is, the sev- 
eral parts are to be added together, and the whole amount in the 
aggregate is to be placed out at interest, so that the minor children, 
until each arrive at twenty-one years of age, shall jointly and sever- 
ally run the risk of the security which may be taken for it. And as 
each child shall arrive at twenty-one years of age, he or she shall he 
paid his or her proportional part of this property, until it be wholly 
paid to them. But if one or more of my children shall have died 
before arriving at the said age, then my will is, that the part or parts 
which would have belonged to the deceased, being living, shall be 
equally divided among all my surviving children, or their heirs. At 
the demise of my said sister, Elizabeth Boott, the five thousand five 
hundred fifty-five dollars and fifty-six cents, which I have left to be 
placed out at interest, the interest of which is for her use during her 
natural life; — at the demise of my said sister. Ann Boott, the five 
thousand five hundred fifty-five dollars and fifty-six cents, which 1 
have left to be placed out at interest, the interest on which is for her 
use during her natural life ; — at the demise of my said wife, Mary 
Boott, the one hundred thousand dollars left to be placed out at inter- 



est, the interest money on which is for her use, and other purposes 
before mentioned, during her natural life. The house, situated in 
Bowdoin Square, which is left for her, the said Mary's, use during 
her natural life, at her demise I order it to be sold, the amount which 
it shall produce, and the several sums above mentioned, viz. : Five 
thousand live hundred fifty-five dollars and fifty-six cents ; five thou- 
sand five hundred fifty -five dollars and fifty-six cents ; and one hun- 
dred thousand dollars, 1 bequeath to be equally divided among our 
children, viz. : Frances, John Wright, Kirk, Francis, Mary, James, 
Elizabeth, Ann, William, and each and every child who may be 
hereafter born unto me, subject, as to minor children, to the same 
disposition and restrictions, as the other property, proceeding from 
mortgages, bonds, notes, &c., bequeathed, as before mentioned, to 
them. I hereby appoint ray cousin, Mr. Kirk Boott, of London, Mr. 
John Harrocks, of Derby, both of the kingdom of Great Britain ; my 
wife, Mary Boott ; Mr. William Pratt ; my son, John Wright Boott ; 
and my son-in-law, Mr. William Wells, all of Boston, Executors 
of this Will, and Trustees and Guardians to my children; — and I 
also hereby appoint my wife, Mary Boott, residuary legatee of all 
property not bequeathed in this will. My earnest desire is, that my 
children may have good educations ; that the principles of religion 
and morality, industry and sobriety, may be strongly inculcated. I 
most affectionately desire them to be friendly and serviceable to 
each other, adding to each other's comforts, and administering to 
each other's wants, throughout their lives. And may God bless, 
guide, and protect them in the paths of rectitude and honor. 

In witness whereof, (the word " dollars " being first interlined,) I 
have hereunto set my hand and seal, in the day and year of our 
Lord above mentioned. 

Kirk Boott. [L.S.] 

Signed, sealed, and declared by the said Kirk Boott, in the pres- 
ence of us, who, in his presence, and in the presence of each other, 
have subscribed our names as witnesses hereto. Jona. Howard, 
Nath'l Goodwin, jr., Leonard Goss. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Boston, December the fifteenth, in the year of our Lord one thou- 
sand eight hundred and fifteen. 

I, Kirk Boott, taking into consideration that, since the date of my 
will, bearing date November the twentieth, one thousand eight hun- 
dred and thirteen, the trade in which I am engaged, in partnership 
with my son, John Wright Boott, has been considerably entered 
into, and cannot be closed in a short time without great sacrifices 
being made, it is my will that in the eventof my decease, that mysaz^ 
son, John W. Boott, shall carry it on in the name of the firm, and for 
and on account of myself and him, in the same proportion of profit 
or loss, as it may be, as it has heretofore been done, U7itil the nine- 
teenth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen; 
that he shall import goods, make sales, receive debts, and make re- 
mittances, and do every thing as he shall think conducive to the 



8 

interest of the trade, in the same manner and form as during my 
hfe time ; that no division of the property, as devised by my said 
will of November 20th, 1813, shall take place until the nineteenth 
day of March, 1818, above mentioned; that in the interim between 
my decease and the said nineteenth of March, the Executors to my 
will of November 20th maij be investing the money which I have 
bequeathed in trust for the support of my wife, Mary Boott, and for 
my sisters, Elizabeth and Ann Boott. The amount devised to my 
sisters is each five thousand five hundred and fifty-five dollars and 
fifty-six cents, equal to twelve -hundred and fifty pounds sterling, 
and recommend to my Executors to invest in England. The one 
hundred thousand dollars, devised in trust for my wife, Mary Boott, 
my Executors are desired to invest in such stocks or mortgages as 
shall appear best to them ; the interest money, as it accrues, from all 
and each of such funds as may be purchased, is to be taken to the 
account of the trade, until the said nineteenth day of March. It is 
my will that, until the said nineteenth day of March, my sisters be 
supported as they have heretofore been, the expense of which 
is to be charged to my account ; and my wife and family are 
to be maintained, clothed, and the children educated, in the same 
manner as during my life-time, the expenses of which are to 
be charged to my estate. Although in my will I have ordered the 
expense of clothing and educating of such of ray children as may be 
in their minority at the time of the said will of November 20th, 1813, 
taking effect, yet, it is now my will, that the clothing and educating 
of each of them shall be charged to him or her by my said wife, 
Mary, and be allowed to lier. The house in which we live, situated 
in Bowdoin Square, devised to her during her natural life, is, on 
aforesaid nineteenth of March, 1818, to be delivered to her in good 
repair, the furniture in good order, the stock of wine to be kept up 
by additional supplies, and fuel to be provided for one year's con- 
sumption. My wish is that my decease may cause no interruption 
to the trade in which I am engaged, and as httle distress to my 
family as possible. I am engaged in a trade with my son, John W. 
Boott, as before mentioned ; but no articles of partnership have been 
entered into between us ; the terms are as understood between us ; 
and as the concerns of the trade have been settled on the first day 
of February of each year, since we have been connected together, 
each to have 5 per cent, interest on his capital stock, each to be 
charged with his expenses, and what profit may be made, or loss 
sustained, three quarters of either to be taken to my account, and 
one-quarter to be taken to my son, J. W. Boott's, account. I have in 
view to take my son, Francis Boott, into partnership, on the first day 
of February, 1816, upon the same terras as I have taken my son, J. W. 
Boott, into partnership ; but whether he will consent or not, is unde- 
termined. If he should consent to be concerned in trade with us, 
then my son, J. W. Boott, is hereby authorized to admit him on the 
day and year above mentioned, and afterwards only two-quarters of 
profits or losses to be taken to my account, one-quarter to my son, 
J. W. Boott's account, and the other one-quarter to my son Francis 
Boott's account, on the nineteenth of March, 1818. My son James 



9 

will be twenty-one years of age on that day. I have intended that 
he shall be equally connected with his brothers and myself, until 
they shall be capable of managing the trade themselves, and then I 
shall retire and turn it over to them. If my decease should take 
place before these intentions can he fulfilled, and iny sons agree to 
be connected together in trade, i'. is my will, to enable them to carry 
it on successfidly , that the portion of my estate which I have be- 
queathed to my children who %vill be in their minority on the afore- 
said \Wi of March, 1818, viz. : Elizabeth, Ann, and William, shall 
be loaned to the said J. W. Boott, Francis Boott, and James Boott, 
they paying interest for the same, until the [said) Elizabeth, Ann, and 
William shall he of age. If my said son, Francis Boott, shall not 
consent to be connected with his brothers in trade, but my sons, 
J. W. Boott and James Boott, shall agree to be connected together, 
then the portion of my estate bequeathed to the before-mentioned 
Elizabeth, Ann, and William, shall be loaned to the said J. W. Boott 
and James Boott, as above expressed to the said J. W. Boott, Fran- 
cis, and James. They will be careful, I am confident, to prevent 
their sisters and brothers from suffering any loss. As I have fixed 
the time until the 19th of March, 1818, before a division of my es- 
tate, according to my will dated November 20th, 1813, shall take 
effect ; yet my executors are, within a year after my decease, to pay 
to my sons, Kirk and Francis, ten thousand dollars each, in part of 
ivhat is bequeathed to them, they paying interest for it until the 
19th of March, 1818. If my wife, Mary Boott, should find that the 
house in which we live, situated in Bowdoin Square, and which is 
left for her use during her life, too large or inconvenient for her es- 
tablishment, or if from any accident, the money which is to be laid 
out, and held in trust, to procure her an income for her support, 
should suffer loss, so as not to be sufficient for her comfortable sup- 
port, then, if the said 3fary request it, my will is that the said house 
be sold ; and my executors are hereby empowered and authorized 
to sell it, and with the money which it may produce, to buy her a 
smaller one, which she may approve of, which house she is to hold 
during her natural life, and at her demise to be disposed of in the 
same manner as the house situated in Bowdoin Square is be- 
queathed to my said wife, in my will of November 20th, 1813. IVie 
residue of the money, over and above ivhat ivill purchase another 
house, is to be invested a,nd held in trust, the interest of which is 
bequeathed to her, and at her decease to be disposed of as the 
money tvhich is devised to procure an income for her support, in the 
will above mentioned. As witness, 

Kirk Boott. [L.S.] 

Signed, sealed, and delivered on this day and year above men- 
tioned, in the presence of us all and each other. Leonard Goss, 
J. A. Lowell, Michael Quinn. 



10 



Suffolk, ss. ) Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 
[L.S.] } 

At a Probate Court, holden at Boston, within and for the County of 
Suffolk, on the twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand eight hundred and seventeen. By the Honorable 
Thomas Dawes, Esquire, Judge of the Probate of Wills, &:c.. 

The annexed Will, dated the 20th of November, Anno Domini 
1813, being presented by John Wright Boott, one of the executors 
therein named, for Probate, Jonathan Howard, Nathaniel Goodwin, jr., 
and Leonard Goss, appear and make oath, that they saw the said Kirk 
Boott sign, seal, and heard him publish the same instrument as his last 
win and testament; and that he was then, to the best of their discern- 
ment, of a sound and disposing mind and memory, and that they sub- 
scribed their names thereto as witnesses, in the presence of said testa- 
tor and of each other, and I do prove, approve, and allow the same, 
and order it to be recorded. And the said Leonard Goss, together with 
John A. Lowell and Michael Quinn, appear and make oath, that 
they saw the said Kirk Boott sign, seal, and heard him publish the 
other instrument annexed, dated December 15th, Anno Domini 
1815, as and for a codicil and part of said will, and that he was then, 
to the beet of their discernment, of a sound, disposing mind and 
memory, and that they subscribed their names as witnesses, in the 
presence of said testator and of each other ; and I do prove, approve, 
and allow the same, and order it to be recorded. 

Given under my hand and seal of office, the day and year above 
written. Thomas Dawes, Judge of Probate. 

Examined. John Heard, Jr., Reg. 

A true copy of record. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



NO. IL 
Consent of the Heirs. 

Boston, January 19, 1817. 

The subscribers, children and devisees of the late Kirk Boott, 
Esquire, deceased, do hereby certify to the Honorable Judge of Pro- 
bate, &c., for the County of Suffolk, our assent and wish that the 
execution of said will may be committed unto our eldest brother, 
John Wright Boott, now senior partner of the house of Kirk Boott 
& Sons, and that our mother, Mary Boott, and William Wells, Es- 
quire, may be received as his suret es. 

Mary Boott, 
James Boott, 
Eliza Boott. 
Examined. John Heard, Jr., Reg. 
A true copy. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



11 

NO. III. 

Executor's Bond. 

Know all men by these Presents, That we, John Wright 
Boott, Merchant, Mary Boott, Widow, and William Wells, Esq., all 
of Boston, in the County of Sufiblk, within the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, are holden and stand firmly bound and obliged unto 
Thomas Dawes, Esq., Judge of Probate of Wills, and granting 
administrations, within the County of Suffolk, in the full sum of two 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to be paid unto the said Thomas 
Dawes, his successors in the said office, or assigns : — To the true 
payment whereof, we do bind ourselves, and each of us, our and 
each of our heirs, executors and administrators, jointly and severally, 
for the whole and in the whole, firmly, by these presents. Sealed 
with our seals. Dated the twentieth day of January, Anno Domini 
one thousand eight hundred and seventeen. 

The Condition of this present Obligation is such, that if the above 
bounden John W. Boott, who is appointed one of the executors of 
the last will and testament of Kirk Boott, late of Boston, aforesaid, 
Merchant, deceased, do make or cause to be made, a true and per- 
fect inventory of all and singular the goods, chattels, rights and 
credits of the said deceased, which have or shall come to the hands, 
possession or knowledge of the said executor, or into the hands and 
possession of any other person or persons for him ; and the same, so 
made, do exhibit, upon oath, into the Registry of the Court of Probate 
for the said County of Suffolk, within three months from the date 
hereof, and the same goods, chattels, rights and credits, and all the 
other the goods, chattels, rights and credits of the said deceased, at 
the time of his death, or which at any time after shall come to the 
hands and possession of the said executor, or into the hands and pos- 
session of any other person or persons for him, do well and truly 
administer according to said will : And further do make, or cause 
to be made, a just and true account of his proceedings thereon, upon 
oath, within one year from the date hereof; then the above-written 
obligation to be void and of none effect, or else to abide and remain 
in full force and virtue. 

John W. Boott, (L.S.) 
Mary Boott, (L.S.) 

William Wells. (L.S.) 

Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of Nathaniel Good- 
win, jr., Leonard Goss. 

Examined by John Heard, Jr., Reg, 

A true copy. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



12 



NO. IV. 

Letters Testamentary. 
Granted January 20th, 1817. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Thomas Dawes, Esquire, Judge of the Probate of Wills, and for 
granting Letters of Administration on the estates of per- 

/y o \ sons deceased, having goods, chattels, rights, or credits in 
^ ■ ■•' the County of Suffolk, within the Commonwealth afore- 
said, To all unto whom these presents shall come, 

Greeting. 

Know ye, that upon the day of the date hereof, before me, at Bos- 
ton, in the county aforesaid, the Will of Kirk Boott, late of Boston, 
aforesaid. Merchant, deceased, testate, to these presents annexed, 
was proved, approved, and allowed : who having, while he lived, 
and at the time of his death, goods, chattels, rights or credits in the 
county aforesaid : and the Probate of the said Will, and power of 
committing Administration of all and singular the goods, chattels, 
rights and credits of the said deceased, by virtue thereof, appertain- 
ing unto me ; the administration of all and singular the goods, chat- 
tels, rights and credits of the said deceased, and his Will, in any 
manner concerning, is hereby committed unto John W. Boott, of 
said Boston, Merchant, Executor in the same Will named, well and 
faithfully to execute the said Will, and to administer the estate of 
the said deceased according thereunto ; and to make a true and per- 
fect inventory of all and singular the goods, chattels, rights and 
credits of the said decased ; and to exhibit the same into the registry 
of the Court of Probate for the county aforesaid, at or before the 
twentieth day of April next ensuing : and also to render a plain and 
true account of his said administration, upon oath. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and the seal 
of the said Court of Probate. Dated at Boston, the twentieth day of 
January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
seventeen. Thomas Dawes, J. Prob. 

Countersigned, John Heard, Jr., Reg'r. 



Suffolk, ss. I order the above-named Executor to give public 
notice of his appointment to and acceptance of that trust, by posting 
notifications thereof in some public places in Boston, in said county, 
and inserting the same three weeks successively in the newspaper 
called the New England Palladium and Commercial Advertiser, 
printed at Boston, within three months, an affidavit of which, with 
an original notification (or a copy thereof,) you are to make and file 
in this office, within seven months from the date hereof, that the 
same may be there recorded. 



13 

Given under my hand and seal in open Probate Court, this twen- 
tieth day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
hundred and seventeen. Thomas Dawes, /. Prob. 

Countersigned, John Heakd, Jr., Reg'r. 

A true copy. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



Suffolk, ss. Probate Court, January 20th, A.D. 1817. 

The within-named Executor, personally appearing, gave bond to 
the satisfaction of the Judge, in the penal sura of two hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars, with Mary Boott, widow, and WilUam Wells, 
Esquire, both of said Boston, sureties for the faithful discharge of 
said trust. 

Attest, John Heard, Jr., RegW. 

A true copy. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



NO. V. 

Inventory of the Estate. 

Inventory and Appraisement of the estate of Kirk Boott, late of Bos- 
ton, in the County of Suffolk, deceased, taken and appraised by 
us, the subscribers, under oath, by virtue of the warrant hereto 
annexed, viz. : 

[Here follows a list of household furniture and other 

chattels, appraised in the whole at $2,684 75,] - $2,684 75 

One pew in King's Chapel, 200 00 

Store No 30, State Street, 9,600 00 

House and land, Bowdoin Square, .... 24,000 00 

A lot land. West Boston, supposed to be 4000 sq. feet, 500 00 



$36,984 75 



Joseph Peirce. \ 

N. V. Goodwin, > Appraisers. 



Leonard Goss, ) 
Boston, Jan. 12, 1818. 



Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Suffolk, ss. 

At a Court of Probate hold en at Boston, in said county, on Mon- 
day, the twelfth day of January, A.D. 1818, the foregoing having 
been duly returned, and this day exhibited, on oath, by John W. 



14 

Boott, the executor of the last wilJ and testament of said deceased, 
as a true and perfect Inventory of all the estate of said deceased that 
has hitherto come to his hands, possession, or knowledge. And the 
said executor having made oath that if any further estate of said 
deceased shall hereafter come to his possession or knowledge, he 
will render a just and true account thereof into the Probate office, 
to be of record herewith. It is therefore decreed by the Judge of 
said Court, that the same be, and it is hereby, accordingly accepted, 
and ordered to be recorded. 

Thomas Dawes, Judge of Probate. 

Examined. John Heard, Jr., Reg. 

A true copy of record. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



NO. VI. 

Executor's First Probate Account. 

The Estate of Kirk Boott in account with John TV. Boott, Executor. 

1818. Dr. . 

April 1. 



To U. S. Six per Cent Stock, 


$43,000 00 


Premium on do. 


1,390 


00 


To U. S. Seven per Cent. Stock, 


31,111 


11 


" Premium on do. 


3,029 


40 


To 510 Suffolk Insurance shares, 


17,000 


00 


" Premium on do. 


753 


44 


To 200 Suffolk Bank shares, 


20,000 


00 


" Premium on do. 


500 


00 


To 2d and 3d instal. on Bank 






stock, - - $10,000 00 




gi If; 7cq qc 






— 'ip L iv,/ oo yj 




Cr. 




By Cash for 6 per Cent. Stock, 


$43,000 


00 


By Cash for 7 per Cent. Stock, 


31,111 


11 


By Cash for Insurance do. 


17,000 


00 


By Cash for Bank Shares, 


10,000 


00 


By Cash for Premiums, 


5,672 


84 


Balance 2d and 3d Instalments on 






Bank Stock not yet payable, 


10,000 


00 






Wl ID, / OO SO 


Jno. 


W. Boott, Executor. 



Suffolk, ss. 

At a Probate Court, held at Boston, on Monday, the eleventh day 
of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 



15 

eighteen, John W. Boott, Executor of the last Will and Testament 
of Kirk Boott, late of Boston, in the County aforesaid, deceased, pre- 
sented this account, produced vouchers, was sworn and examined : 
Whereupon, I do decree that the same be, and it is hereby allowed, 
and ordered to be recorded. 

Thomas Dawes, Judge of Probate. 

Examined. John He^kd, Jr., Register. 

A true copy. Attest, H. M. Willis, Register. 



NO. VII. 



Letter — Kirk Boott to Edward Brooks. 
Feh-uary 8, 1826. 

East Chelmsford, Feb'y 8, 1826. 

Dear Sir, — In making the following communication, I beg you 
will not consider me as preferring any claims or pretensions to your 
consideration, in consequence of our connection ; but regard it solely 
in the light of a business transaction between man and man. 

From recent communications with my brother, I find that our 
losses in business proved very heavy, and that he is more in advance 
for me than I expected. As he is preparing to settle the estate 
and p)ciy over the halances, it is incumbent on me to come to a set- 
tlement with him ; and to do this, I must either dispose of the greater 
part of my manufacturing stock, or procure a loan. The latter, I 
think, is the preferable course, if I can effect it, as the disposal of 
any part of my interest in Chelmsford stock, would not only be 
highly disadvantageous in a pecuniary view, but would at the same 
time, subject me to misconstruction, while I continue the Agent. I 
am therefore desirous to borrow $8,000, the interest upon which I 
will pay semi-annually, and secure the principal upon my share of 
the estate, after the demise of my mother, or, if its present value can 
be calculated, I will make it over at its worth, at once. It will 
amount to something like $15,000, and perhaps, if real estate keeps 
its price, to something more. 

As ElizoJs portion loill be paid you in a few months, perhaps you 
may be willing to take this loan. If, however, you have or wish to 
make other arrangements, you will frankly say so, and I shall cheer- 
fully seek the accommodation from some other quarter. I would 
rather negotiate with you than another, for it is not pleasant to expose 
one's poverty further than is unavoidable. Think the matter over, and 
if you can give me an answer at once, drop me a line, (marked pri- 
vate, to prevent its being opened in my absence,) or you can wait 
till I see you. Yours, very truly. 

Kirk Boott. 



16 



NO. VIII. 

Letters — Kirk Boott to Edward Brooks. 
In 1830 and 1831. 

[As there are many abbreviations in these letters, it may be well to 
explain, that J. W. B., and sometimes J. W., mean John Wright 
Boott; — L. & R., or K & L., mean Lyman & Ralston; — R. R., 
and sometimes R., are Robert Ralston, one of that firm ; — Matt, 
or Matt. R., signifies Matthew Ralston, a brother of Robert; — 
Ash. signifies Ashbel Ralston, another brother ; — M. D. F., or M. 
D., is the Mill Dam Foundry; — F. B. is the late Francis Boott, 
for whose children Mr. Wright Boott was Guardian ; — M. M. Co. 
is the Merrimac Manufacturing Company ; — and J. A. L. is John 
Amory Lowell.] 

Kirk Boott to Edward Brooks, September 26, 1830. 

My Dear Sir : 

I felt too jaded last evening to seek a private interview with J. 
W. B., and my affairs at Lowell rendered it necessary that I should 
get back as soon as possible. I have written him by this post, 
recommending him to bend all his attention to making up an accu- 
rate account of the works on the Mill Dam — observing that the 
course proper for him to pursue must depend, in good measure, upon 
the state and value of this property. But that the debt to F. B.'s 
children must be settled in full at all events ; and that to efl^ect this, 
should be his first and chief object. 

It did not occur to me to inquire what are the relations of R. &. L. 
and J. W. B. with respect to the works on the Mill Dam. Are they 
partners? In whose name does the property stand? Has any in- 
cumbrance been made ? If not, are there any means of prevent- 
ing this property from being attached ? 

I have been necessarily so much from home lately, that I have 
much to attend to here ; yet I will come down, if I can be of any 
use. Very sincerely Yours, 

Kirk Boott. 

Sunday, Sept. 26. 



Kirk Boott to E. Brooks, September 29, 1830. 

Lowell, Sept. 29, 1830. 
My Dear Sir : 

If such a statement as you have recommended can be made up, 
which I fear J. W. will find almost impossible, it certainly would 
greatly facilitate the settlement. The truth may be approximated, 
if not correctly ascertained. The immediate difficulty appears to lay 
with R. & L., and J. W. B.'s engagements on their account. For, as 
they are all partners in as far as the M. D, F. is concerned, if R & L. 



17 

are unable to meet their payments, or get their notes renewed, there 
is fear that the whole of this property may be taken by attachment. 

To prevent the possibihty of such an event, it does seem to me 
that prudence dictates that they should join in an assignment, pro- 
vided such a measure can be taken without injuring the credit of 
R. & L. Were my mother without company, I am by no means 
sure that a general assignment would not be best; but in this, I 
think she should have a voice. I feel confident that she anticipates 
difficulty, and do not believe that finding her income greatly abridged 
would very seriously affect her. But to learn that F. B.'s children 
were sufferers through J. W. B.'s agency, would afflict her beyond 
measure. I thought, when I met you and R. the other morning, that 
he assented to the propriety of that debt's being first paid in full. 
At least, I considered his silence as acquiescing, and I told J. W. B. 
that this would be agreed to. I had a note from J. W. B. last night, 
written in the greatest distress. He says, " if that sum should not 
be paid in full, I am not only ruined in property, but in reputation 
forever. 1 am indifferent about the future, as respects myself, as to 
the means of subsistence ; but to bear a brand of dishonor, I cannot 
contemplate with composure. And besides, if the children are paid 
in full, and this claim of theirs also, the ivhole burthen ivill fall upon 
my poor mother, who will have means so diminished that her com- 
fort and happiness will be destroyed, and, if her mind should dwell 
much on her situation, you will see her health decline — perhaps 
destroyed. I do ivish now that the property teas taken out of my 
hands, to be appropriated as I first pointed out. I am bound, hand 
and foot, and can do nothing of myself It is, certainly, equally fo-^, 
the interest of the heirs that the fund left to my mother shoubd he made 
good; it will come to them eventually" 

I have written to him a few lines, to say that I will be in town on 
Saturday, but how to advise or assist him is more than I can tell- 
But for R. 4" L's affairs, I have no doubt that an assignment of all his 
property, out of which F. B.'s heirs' claim should be first paid, and the 
residue divided among the other creditors, ivould be the most advisable 
course. I am almost worried out. Committee after committee keep 
coming up in relation to the increase of the Appleton Works, or- a 
new concern, for all of which many calculations are required, taking 
all my time, and, since this unhappy disclosure, I get neither sleep or 
rest, and after next week I shall commence the half yearly accounts 
of the M. M. Co, 

I do not mention this with a view of avoiding any labor, which I 
will most cheerfully encounter, but to account for my not coming 
sooner to town. This state of suspense is worse than all the rest, 
except the fears of J. W. B,, as to character. I do hope R. & L. will 
not urge this claim, if it can possibly be helped. 

Ever very truly Yours, 

KB. 



18 



Kirk Boott to E. Brooks, evening September 29, 1830. 

Evening, Sept. 29, 1830. 
My Dear Sir : 

I wrote you this afternoon, to say that I would be in town on Sat- 
urday. Since then I have your 2d letter, of the 28th. I cannot, 
without a very gross dereliction of duty, leave home to-raorrow — 
having several appointments with workmen, who cannot proceed 
without me. Besides, Mr. Colburn is from home, and I make it a 
point never to suffer both to sleep away from the Works, on any 
account whatever. I will use every exertion to see you on Friday. 
I am decidedly of opinion that J. W. B. should not join in mortgag- 
ing the M. D. F., unless he receives his full proportion of the sum 
raised upon it, to be applied to lessen his debts to the heirs of F. B. 

I have every confidence in R., but in his necessities he may be 
induced to do what otherways he would not think of I have no de- 
sire that he should yield any thing improperly, but it does appear to 
me that this debt of honor(should be, if only for the sake of my 
mother, taken care of It is evident that a speedy decision is at 
hand. If I can get away, however, late to-morrow evening, I will. 

Ever Yours, truly, 

K. B. 



Kirk Boott to Edivard Brooks, October 10, 1830. 

Sunday, Oct. 10th, 1830. 
My Dear Sir : 

I learnt with surprise, last evening, from R., that nothing had yet 
been determined upon. Immediately on the receipt of your last let- 
ter, I wrote briefly to J. W. B., stating the reasons why it was expe- 
dient he should join in the mortgage, and begged he would see you 
on the subject directly. I have been very busy ever since then, and 
having the house full into the bargain, must plead my excuse for not 
at once answering your letter. Indeed, I expected J W. B. would 
see you at once, and thus render it unnecessary. Whatever course 
is judged best should, it appears to me, be taken directly, as delay 
can do no possible good, and must be attended with danger. 

Ralston judges favorably of the business on M D., and I confess 
it looks less desperate on paper than I expected. Still it is an up- 
hill business, with such a load of debt. Yet, with economy and per- 
severance, it may be surmounted. 

I shall be intown on Thursday, till when, 

I am truly Yours, 
K. B. 



19 

Kirh Boott to Edward Brooks, date uncertain. 

TuESBAY Evening. 
Mr Dear Sir : 

I was never more surprised than at the misunderstanding between 
Mr. A. Ralston and myself, after a full explanation with Rob't. He 
and Ash. took me aside in the evening, and observed that, with 
$10,000, he thought they might get along ; and as the pressing debts 
were all in the family, 1hey might be postponed. In the morning, 
Ash. proposed to me that L. &. R. should dissolve, and that J. W. B. 
should take charge of the M. D. F., and Rob't, the business in town. 
I left him to propose this to J. W. B., in whose presence I wrote you 
my letter. I afterwards saw Ash., and told him only that J. W. B. 
would be guided by the opinion of his friends. The $10,000 was to 
be raised between this and the first of Dec. ; and it was thought it 
might be subtracted from the Stock of the M. D. F. No further 
mention was made of a mortgage. The case is so full of difficulty 
that it is very hard to decide. My own opinion is, that J. W. B. 
should at once assign all his property, first to secure F. B.'s heirs, and 
next the estate and heirs of my father. The endorsements for R. & L. 
are no debts of his, and securing to them a just proportion of what 
he may ou-e them as executor, is all, under the circumstances, they can 
claim. "With the disposition of the Ralstons to ease themselves 
(however natural) of as much ,of the burthen as possible, J. W. B, 
cannot, in justice to my mother, assist them ; and however desirable 
it may be to give time, in delay there is great danger that he may 
not have it in his power to do equal justice. Cannot an assignment 
be made and kept secret for the present, that would bar attachment 
at all events, till we see the result of the accounts of the M. D. F. ? 
If Matt. R cannot lose the amount he has advanced without failing, 
may he not, in spite of Ash., immediately attach ? And Ash. never 
said he had power to act for Matt. I have no faith that L. & R. can 
possibly get along without material assistance from the family; and 
I doubt much whether they will think it prudent to afford it. He 
admits that the debts of L. Sj- R. are $S0,000 ; and do you not think it 
probable that they icill turn out more ? How is it possible for them, 
with doubtful credit, to carry on their business with such a load ? If 
the loan is made of $20,000, J. W. B. should insist, I do think, upon 
his proportion, to be invested for the heirs of F. B. And if this is 
not assented to, I do not think he ought to join in the mortgage. My 
mother and Ann, with Miss K., are coming up here to-morrow. I 
feel that if left alone, by any chance, with my mother, that I shall 
hardly be able to contain my feelings. But until some course is de- 
cided upon, it would be highly improper to make any partial disclo- 
sures, and I shall put a bridle upon my feelings. 

Do decide for us. If a secret assignment can be legally made, it 
does appear to me it ought. Youi's truly, 

KB. 

This is a very disconnected epistle, but I am hurried and disturbed 
beyond measure. 



20 

Kirk Boon to Edward Brooks, Maij 22, 1831. 

Lowell, May 22d, 1831. 
My Dear Sir: 

Accompanying yours of yesterday, I had one from J. A. L., urging 
me to come down. Were it possible, I would have left home this 
morning. But I have been literally in torture since Friday, from an 
attack of acute rheumatism, which settled in my lame shoulder, 
arising from a severe cold taken on Thursday. This has confined 
me to the house, and still does ; but as the pain is shifting to the 
arm, I am in hopes to be able to see you on Thursday, on which day, 
if possible, I will be in town. I have no copy of my letter to Wright ; 
it was penned in great pain, and under an overwhelming impression 
derived from a conversation with J., that L. & R.'s failure was at 
hand. It was in consequence of a desire on the part of Mr. T. to 
discount L. & R.'s paper at the Bank, that R. urged an examination 
of their affairs. Mr. J. was a party to it, and it resulted in a convic- 
tion that they were not entitled to any credit, and such was Mr. J.'s 
report to Mr. T. Now such an occurrence as this, in which R.'s 
statements alone were taken, being immediatehj followed by J. W. B.'s 
resignation, for ivhich no adequate motives coidd be openly assigned, 
did not, in my mind, admit of a doubtful interpretation. Wm. A. had 
already made the application, and several others strongly suspected 
the cause. J. A. L. also had observed to me, that he did not think 
that the sacrifice of J. W. B. would be of any service to L. & R. 

With regard to making provision for the endorsements, I am 
clearly of opinion, that however desirable it may be on all accounts, 
that it should only be done with my mother's full concurrence. That 
an estimate, not overstated, of her resources, should be shown her, 
and that her opinion should decide. 

If L. & R. fail, how is Anne and her children, and Mary, to sub- 
sist, unless my mother can give them temporary shelter ? and with- 
out some income, how is this to be done ? 

The mortgage of the Mill Dam, I presume, is made entirely for 
L. & R.'s debts, and if the property is worth only half what they 
estimate it at, this ivill cover any demands they have upon J W. B. as 
executor. His reversion of the estate, which he says he will never 
touch a cent of, might be pledged as security for his endorsements, 
and in justice, perhaps this is all that the R.'s can claim. 

But perhaps I may be in error. I do not, under all circumstances, 
think it very important that J. W. B. should take the agency of the 
Sutf. Co. My wish would be to have him sent to England for the 
Rail Road. This would take a year, and to procure the agency of 
the new concern for him on his return. The advantages of this 
course are — that such a change would turn the whole current of his 
ideas, throw him much upon the world, and afford him an opportu- 
nity of procuring much information that is wanted, and which would 
give him a consideration with those concerned with us. He is ad- 
mirably qualified for this purpose, and I do hope and believe it all 
might be effected. At all events, it could be speedily ascertained. 
The new concern, too, would be a much better field, for him. 



21 

If it is necessary to act, 1 sJiould greatly prefer the assignment at 
once ; but provided ray mother is made acquainted with the state of 
affairs, and acquiesces in any course you will recommend, I hereby 
pledge myself to you to consider myself a party, and to abide by and 
acknowledge as my act, whatever deed you may conclude upon. I 
write in great pain, and in a very constrained posture, and cannot 
take a copy of this ; yet do not destroy it. I am sensible fully as to 
the trouble and delicacy of tliis business to you, and regret its neces- 
sity ; but I cannot help it. Yours truly, 

K. B. 



Kirk Boott to Edward Brooks, date uncertain. 

My Deak Sie : 

I saw R. R. yesterday afternoon, and explained to him very fully 
that the plan he proposed for raising money on the M. D. F. could 
not be assented to. That in any event, /. W. B.felt it to he his duty 
to assign over his property for the security of all his creditors ; and that 
in so doing, it seemed impossible but the M. D. F. must be stopped. 
That however well his statements looked on paper, it did appear to 
me there must be some fallacy in them. And that as far as I could 
see, it was doubtful whether any profit had yet been derived from 
carrying on their works. 

He was evidently seriously alarmed. In the evening, Ash. and 
he took me into the library. Ash remarked that all the debts com- 
ing due were to his family, and that they might be postponed ; and 
that if it were possible to divide the Stock there into Shares, he 
thought it would be possible to induce some of his creditors to 
take Shares for their debts ; and that he would himself That 
J. W. B. should have his proportion ; and that if this were accom- 
plished, he might then hypothecate them without stopping the 
Works. This morning he proposed to me the following : That 
Lyman should convey to Pt. R. all his interest in the M. D. F., as 
well as any claim upon J. W. B. as executor, and his reversionary in- 
terest in the estate. That the partnership should be dissolved. 
That the Stock should be made a joint concern. That J. W. B. 
should take charge of the Works, and R. R. manage the business in 
town. That $10,000 should be withdrawn as soon as practicable, to 
pay cash advances, made by Matt., and that he would undertake 
that the other debts should lay for years, and be reduced out of the 
profits of the concern. 

I repUed that if this could be effected without rendering J. W. B.'s 
creditors more insecure, I saw no objection to it. But that in the 
mean time, some competent person should make out a statement of 
the affairs of the M. D. F. If a profit could be shown adequate to 
their support, and to the gradual liquidation of the debts, it might be 
a judicious course ; but if otherwise, I felt assured that J. W. B. 
would not consent. To accomplish this, I am to send down Tufts, 
my Clerk, and upon the result we could determine whether this 
course ought to be adopted. 



22 

Suppose this course to be adopted, could not J. W. B. assign all 
his property? a course he is very anxious to take — as he fears in 
their distress, they ( L. & Pv,.) may be driven to attach. 

Pray let me hear from you. 1 am obliged to go home to-day, but 
will return to town at any time, at a day's notice. 

Very truly. Yours, 

Kirk Boott. 
Sunday morning. 



NO. IX. 

Deed — Lyman and Wife to J. W. Boott. 

Know all Men by these Presents, That we, William Lyman, 
of Boston, Merchant, and Mary, wife of said William, and one of ihe 
daughters and co heirs or devisees of the late Kirk Boott, Esq., in 
the right of said Mary, and Robert Ralston, junior, of Boston, Mer- 
chant, and Anne, wife of said Robert, and another of the daughters 
and co-heirs or devisees of the said Kirk Boott, Esq., in the right 
of the said Anne, in consideration of ten dollars to us paid by John 
W. Boott, of said Boston, Merchant, the receipt of which we do ac- 
knowledge, and for divers other good and valuable considerations, 
do hereby give, grant, bargain, sell, and convey unto the said John 
W. Boott, and his heirs and assigns, all the right, title and interest 
of each of us resjjectively in o.nd to that messuage and jyarcel of land 
situated at the junction of Boivcloin Square and Bulfinch Street, 
which was the tnmision house of the said Kirk Boott, with the gar- 
den, stable, and all the appurtenances thereof, and all the rights and 
privileges to the same belonging — and in and to any and all par- 
cels of land or real estate, whereof the said Kirk Boott died seized 
and possessed, wheresoever the same are situated, and however 
described. 

And we do also sell, transfer, and assign to the said John W. 
Boott, all our respective shares, portions, and interest in all the funds, 
stocks, chattels, and personal property of and belonging to the estate 
of the late Kirk Boott, Esq., or held and possessed by any person or 
persons, as trustees under his will, or as executors thereof. 

To Have and to Hold the afore-granted premises, unto the said 
John "VV. Boott, and his heirs and assigns, to his and their use for- 
ever. And we, the said William Lyman and Robert Ralston, junior, 
for ourselves and our heirs, do covenant with the said John W. Boott, 
his heirs and assigns, that we will warrant and defend the premises 
against the lawful claims and demands of all persons claiming by, 
through, or under us, but not otherwise. 



23 

In testimony, whereof, we, William and Mary Lyman, and Robert 
and Anne Ralston, hereto set our hands and seals, the twenty-first 
day of September, A. D. eighteen hundred and thirty-one. 

William Lyman, (L.S. ) 

Mary Lyman, (L.S.) 

EoBEET Ralston, Jr., (L.S.) 
Anne Ralston. (L.S.) 

Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of us, Sarah L, Wells, 
witness to the signature of Robert and Anne Ralston ; J. A. Lowell, 
witness to the signature of Mrs. Mary Lyman; Edward Brooks, wit- 
ness of the signature of all the parties. 



Suffolk, ss. Boston, September 21st, 1831, 

Personally appeared, William and Mary Lyman, and Robert and 
Anne Ralston, and acknowledged this instrument to be their free 
act and deed. Before me, 

Er>^ Ti Brooks, Justice of Peace. 



February 27, 1835, at 1 o'clock, P. M. 

Received, entered, and examined, 

Per Henry Alline, Reg. 



NO. X. 

E. Brooks's Declaration of Trust. 

Be it Known, Wliereas, John W. Boott, of Boston, Merchant, 
has this day conveyed to me the following property, to wit, fourteen 
shares in the Boston Manufacturing Company, at Waltham, being 
shares numbered 214, 215, 216, 217, 228, 229, 510, 511, 515, 516, 517, 
518, 519, 520, and also six shares in the Merrimack Manufacturing 
Company, at Lowell, being shares numbered 717, 730, 731, 732,. 733, 
734, — and has also conveyed to me, by endorsement, his interest in 
a certain promissory note, given to said Boott by Robert Lilly, for the 
sum of fourteen thousand dollars, whereon has been paid the sum of 
nine hundred and sixty-six dollars and sixty-one cents, Now I do 
hereby acknowledge and agree, that the property aforesaid, and any 
profits or interest that may accrue thereon, and all proceeds from the 
sale of the same, is held by me, in Trust, for the following purposes, 
and none other: That is to say, First, whereas the said John W. 
Boott is Guardian of the children of the late Francis Boott, which 
guardianship accounts are still open and unsettled, upon the Trust 
to appropriate so much of the funds aforesaid as shall be requisite 



24 

to pay and discharge any balances that may, on a final settlement 
and adjustment, be found to be due from said John W. Boott to the 
said children of the said Francis Boott, or either of them, in his said 
capacity as their Guardian. Secondly, whereas the said John W. Boott 
is indebted to the estate of the late Kirk Boott, Esquire, deceased, in his 
capacity as executor of the last will and testament of the said Kirk 
Boott, on the further Trust to hold the balance of said property, and 
the income and proceeds of the same, should any remain after dis- 
charging the balances due as Guardian as aforesaid, subject to the 
order of said Boott in his said capacity as executor, and in case the 
said Boott should decease, or resign his said trust as executor, then 
to hold the said balance subject to the order of whomsoever may be 
appointed administrator on said estate, in his stead. It is, however, 
understood, and is a part of the agreement with said Brooks as 
Trustee, that he is not to enforce the payment of the said note of 
Robert Lilly, or of the interest due thereon, or to sell the property or 
effects within enumerated as having been conveyed to him, unless 
thereto specially ordered by said Boott, or those claiming under him, 
or by order of law. Witness my hand and seal, this twenty-third 
day of May, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one. 

Edward Brooks. (L.S.) 
Witness, Wm. Sullivan. 



This Instrument cancelled March, 1835, by the settlement of the 
Guardianship account, and payment of the balance, by Mr. Boott. 
The property was accordingly re-conveyed to him by me. 

Tliis memorandum made April 25, 1835. 

Edward Brooks. 



NO. XL 

Deed — John W. Boott to Jno. W. Boott, Executor. 

Know all Men by these Presents, That I, John W. Boott, of 
Boston, in the County of Suffolk and Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts, Merchant, in consideration of twenty-five hundred dollars paid 
me by John W. Boott, as he is executor of the last will and testa- 
ment of the late Kirk Boott, Esq., deceased, the receipt whereof I 
do hereby acknowledge, do hereby give, grant, sell, and convey unto 
the said Boott, in his said capacity of executor as aforesaid, a certain 
lot of land, with a brick stable on the same, numbered Two, on a 
Plan recorded with Suffolk Deeds, on the ninth day of July, 1807, 
Lib. 222, fol. 125, and is bounded as follows : — southerly on a pas- 
sage way from said Estate, or Stable, to Bowdoin Street, late Mid- 
dlecot Street, there measuring eighteen feet four inches ; west- 
erly on the stable, late the property of WiUiam Dehon, now of 
Theodore Lyman, (numbered One on said Plan,) by the middle of 



25 

the partition wall, there measuring twenty-six feet, eight inches ; 
northerly on land late of William Cleland, now of Theodore Ly- 
man, Jr., there measuring twenty feet ; and easterly on land be- 
longing to the heirs of Kirk Boott, there nieasurhig twenty-six 
feet; or however otherwise bounded, being the same premises 
which were conveyed to me by William Dehon, by his deed bear- 
ing date the twenty-eighth day of February, one thousand eight hun- 
dred and twenty-five, and recorded with Suffolk Deeds, Lib. 297, 
fol. 199, with all the rights and privileges of using the passage to 
Bowdoin Street, aforesaid, for passing and repassing with carriages 
and otherwise. To Have and to Hold the afore-granted premises to 
the said Boott, in his capacity of Executor, as aforesaid, bis heirs, 
successors, and assigns, to his and their use and behoof forever. 
And I, for myself, my heirs, executors, and administrators, do cove- 
nant with the said Boott, in his said capacity of Executor, as afore- 
said, his heirs and assigns, that I am lawfully seized in fee of the 
afore-granted premises ; that they are free of all incumbrances ; that 
I have good right to sell and convey the same to the said Boott, in 
his capacity of Executor, as aforesaid ; and that I, for myself, my 
heirs, executors, and administrators, will warrant and defend the same 
premises to the said Boott, in his capacity of Executor, his heirs and 
assigns forever, against the lawful claims and demands of all per- 
sons. 

In witness whereof, I, the said John W. Boott, have hereunto set 
my hand and seal, this twenty-sixth day of May, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one. 

John W. Boott, (L.S.) 

Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of us, Peter O. Thacher, 
Edward Brooks. 



Suffolk, ss. May 26, 1831. 

Then the above-named John W. Boott acknowledged the above 
instrument to be his free act and deed. Before me, 

Peter O. Thachek, Justice of Peace, 



May 26th, 1831, at 11 o'clock, A. M. 
Received, entered, and examined. 



Per Henry Alline, Reg. 



26 

NO. XII. 

Letter — J. W. Boott to E. Brooks. 

Dear Sir : 

As you consented yesterday to apply the dividends and interest 
on the Stocks and note in your hands, towards the payment of my 
note to Mr. Lowell, I have this day anticipated the receipt from you 
of them, and have paid to Mr. Lowell $5,000. Therefore, at your 
convenience, I request you will be good enough to send me a check 
for such sums as you have received, and to hand over to me the in- 
terest on Mr. Lilly's note, when it shall be paid. 

Yours truly, 

Jno. W. Boott. 
Ed. Brooks, Esq. 
Nov. 22, 1831. 



NO. XIII. 

E.ECEIPTS FROM JoHN WrIGHT BoOTT.. 

Boston, Nov. 23, 1831. 

Received of Edward Brooks, fourteen hundred and forty dollars, 
being the amount of a dividend on 14 shares in the Bos. Man'g Co., 
paid in October last, and a dividend on 6 shares in the Merrimac 
Man'g Co., paid Nov. 21, which shares are held by him, in trust, for 
me, as Executor. John W. Boott. 

$1,440. 

Boston, Jan. 1, 1831.* 
Received of Edward Brooks, seven hundred and fifty-six dollars, 
being one year's interest, at 6 per cent., on R. Lilly's note to me, 
held by said Brooks as Trustee, the amount on said note unpaid 
being $12, GOO, to he apjjlied by me in part payment of my note to J. A. 
Lowell. Jno. W. Boott. 

Boston, April 13th, 1832. 

Received of Edward Brooks, seven hundred dollars, being the 

amount of a dividend received by him April 4, on 14 shares of the 

stock of the Boston Manufacturing Company, held by him as trustee, 

to be applied to the payment of my debt to John A. Loivell, as executor. 

Jno. W. Boott. 

Boston, May 17th, 1832. 
Received of Edward Brooks, three hundred and sixty dollars, be- 
ing the semi-annual dividend on six shares in the Merrimack Man- 

* By mistake for 1832. 



27 

ufacturing Company, held by hira as trustee, to he applied in part 
payment of the debt due to J. A. Lowell by me, as Executor of the late 
Kirk Boott, Esq. Jno. W. Boott. 

Boston, Oct. 10, 1832. 
Received of Edward Brooks, seven hundred dollars, being a divi- 
dend on fourteen shares in the Boston Manufacturing Co., to be ap- 
plied to the payment of my note to John A. Lowell. 

Jno. W. Boott. 

Boston, Dec. 4, 1832. 
Received from Edward Brooks, Esq., two hundred and forty dol- 
lars, towards paying the interest on my note to J. A. Loivell, on Jan. 1, 
1833. Jno. W. Boott. 

Boston, Dec. 31, 1832. 
Received from Ed. Brooks, Esq., seven hundred and fifty-six dol- 
lars, towards paying the interest on my notes to J. P. Gushing and 
J. A. Lowell. Jno. W. Boott. 

$756 

Boston, April 5, 1833. 
Received of Edward Brooks, seven hundred dollars, dividend on 
14 shares in the Boston Manufacturing Co., to be paid on my note to 
J. A. Lowell. Jno. W. Boott. 



Boston, May 23d, 1833. 
Received from Edward Brooks, Esq., three hundred and sixty 
dollars, to be paid on my note to J. A. Lowell. 

Jno. W. Boott. 

Dividend on six shares in Merrimack Manufacturing Co., stand- 
ing in my name. E. B. 



Boston, October 1, 1833. 
Received from Ed, Brooks, Esq., seven hundred dollars, to he en- 
dorsed on my note to J. A. Lowell, Esq. Jno. W. Boott. 



Boston, October 15th, 1833. 
Received from Edward Brooks, Esq., one thousand dollars, to he 
endorsed on my note to J. A. Lowell, Esq. Jno. W. Boott. 



Boston, Nov. 21, 1833. 
Received from Ed. Brooks, Esq., four hundred and twenty dollars, 
for which I promise to account. Jno. W. Boott. 

$420. 



28 

Boston, April 9th, 1834. 

Received of Edward Brooks, four hundred and twenty dollars, 
dividend on fourteen shares in the Boston Mannfacturing Company, 
held by him in trust, to be applied in part payment of my note to J. A. 
Loivell. Jno. W. Boott. 

$420 

Boston, May 22d, 1S34. 

Received of Edward Brooks, three hundred and sixty dollars, div- 
idend on six shares in Merrimack Manufacturing Co., held by him 
in trust for me. Jno. W. Boott. 

$360. 

Boston, Oct. 7, 1834. 

Received from Ed. Brooks, Esq., five hundred and sixty dollars, 
being a dividend on fourteen shares B. M. 0.,for which I promise to 
account. Jno. W. Boqtt. 

$560. 

Boston, Nov. 11, 1834. 

Received of Edward Brooks, two thousand three hundred and 
sixty dollars, being two thousand dollars paid him on Robert Lilly's 
note,* and three hundred and sixty dollars dividend on six shares in 
the Merrimack Manufacturing Co., all which are now held by him 
in trust for me, as executor. The payment on Lilly's note was Oct. 
21 and 22. Jno. W. Boott. 

$2,360. 

A true copy from the Records of the Probate Office. 

Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 

* This sum was paid by me to Mr- J. A. Lowell, Oct. 22.— E. Brooks. 



. NO. XIV. 

Release from Kirk Boott and others. 
April 14, 1833. 

The undersigned, heirs at law of the late Kirk Boott, of Boston, 
Esquire, do hereby exonerate and discharge John W. Boott, executor 
of the last will and testament of Kirk Boott, from all claims and de- 
mands in his capacity as executor as aforesaid. Witness our hands 
and seals. Kirk Boott, 

Anne Boott, 
W. Wells, 
Frances Wells, 
Edward Brooks, 
Eliza Brooks, 
Wm. Boott, 
April 14, 1833. James Boott. 



29 



NO. XV. 

Letter — Kirk Boott to E. Brooks. 
May 10, 1833. 

Lowell, May 10th, 1833. 
My Dear Sir: 

After I saw you on ' Change this morning, my mother requested 
me not to mention to any one, the interview I had with her on Wed- 
nesday evening, and I will therefore thank you to forget what I 
communicated. 

I have some misgivings that if 1 meddle at all I may do more harm 
than good; and I am not sure that any of the parties exactly know 
what they would be at. If I can put into shape what I feel, so as to 
incur little risk of giving offence, I think I shall write to J. W. B. ; 
but I am very sensible how ticklish an affair this is. If you can give 
me the benefit of your advice, you may depend upon it, I can keep 
it to myself I still think the best thing mother can do is to leave the 
house in the Square, and take a smaller 07ie. And I am satisfied if it 
should be so considered by others, she would consent. I have some 
thoughts of going down on Sunday ; in which case, I hope to be able 
to see you in the evening. Yours truly, 

( Signed) Kirk Boott. 



NO. XVL 



Extracts prom Stock Ledger of Merrimac Manufacturing Co. 
Showing the Transfers of Shares to and from J. W. Boott. 

Clerk's Certificate. 

E. Chadwick, Esq. 

Dear Sir : — Mr, J. W. B.'s transactions with the Merrimack Com- 
pany are stated on the inclosed paper, to the commencement of his 
accounts as Executor, Guardian, and Trustee, an account of which 
was handed you on 28th November. The two papers will give Mr. 
Brooks all that we are able to communicate on the subject ; that is, 
they embrace all that our books show. Yours, &-c. 

Nath'l. T. Goodwin. 

Lowell, 6th December, 1844. 







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" New Stock, 
" James Boot 
" William Ly 
" Charles Jac 




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P. Mason, 
'. Lyman, 
Lowell, 
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Lee, 

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Ly7nan, 
Lowell, T 
P. Cushin 
Lowell, T 
, Boott, Tri 
. Boott, G 
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31 



Treasurer's Letter, enclosing the Accounts below. 

Dear Sir, — The enclosed is a transcript from our Stock Ledger, 
which I presume contains the information you need. 

Yours truly, 
Nov. 22, 1844. E. Chadwick. 

Edward Brooks, Esq. 



J. W. Boott's Accounts as Executor, Guardian, and Trustee. 

Db. J. W. BOOTT, AS EXECUTOR. Cr. 





To 


Shrs. 




Erom 


Shrs. 


1831. 






1831. 






May 24. 


J. A. Lowell, Trustee, 


'25 


May 24. 


J. A. Lowell, Trustee, 


25 


Nov. 24. 


J. P. Cushing, 


42 


" 28. 


J. P. Cushing, 


42 


1837. 






Nov. 24. 


J. P. Cushing, 


21 


Mar. 13. 


William Amory, 


2 








1838. 






1835. 






Nov. 30. 


T. H. Perkins, Jr. 


23 


Feb. 20. 

1838. 


Edward Brooks, 


6 








Nov. 20. 


New Stock, 


23 



Now in his name, as Executor, 25 Shares. 



Dr. J. W. BOOTT, AS GUAEDIAN. Or. 


To Frances Boott To 


Shrs. 


From 


Shrs. 


18a5. 1 
July 24. 1 Frances Boott, 


2 


1831. 1 
May 23. | J. W. Boott, 


2 


To Frances Boott. 








1835. i 
July 24. 1 Francis Boott, 


2 


1831. 1 
May 20. | J. W. Boott, 


2 


To Mary Boott. 








1838. W. Wells, Ed. Brooks, and ) 

Feb. 17. J. W. Boott, Guardians \ 

to Mary Goodrich, ) 


^ 


1831. 1 
May 23. | J. W. Boott, 


2 



Dr. 




J. W. Boon, AS TRUSTEE.* 


Cr. 


To 


Shrs. 


From 

1831. 1 
Jan. 14. 1 John W. Boott, 


Shrs 




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Now in his name as Trustee. 

Lowell, 21st November, 1844. 

* For Mrs. Lee, formerly the Avidow of Mr. Francis Boott. 



NO. XVIL 

Extracts from Stock Ledger of Boston Manufacturing Co. 

Showing the Transfers of Shares to and from J. W. Boott, as certified 
hy the Treasurer. 

Boston, January 22, 1847. 

Dear Sir, — In reply to your favor of yesterday, I beg leave to 
transmit the following abstracts from the Stock Ledger of the Bos- 
ton Manufacturing Company, -which will, I presume, serve as a sat- 
isfactory reply to the inquiries you make. 





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Charles Jackson, 
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J. W. Boott, Trustee, 

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" " Francis Boott, 

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NO. XVIII. 

Extracts from a Correspondence between Wm. Wells and Wm. Boott. 

W. Wells to W. Boott. 
Dec. 5, 1843. 

" P. S. Mrs. K. B. informed Fanny [Mrs. Wells], that Mr. Low- 
ell stated to her, that having heard it reported that Mrs. Boott's prop- 



34 

erty had been materially diminished, he could say this was not the 
case — it remained as it was twelve years ago. He gave Mrs. B. 
liberty to use his name. I am pleased to hear this statement." 



W. BooTT TO W. Wells. 
Bee. 7, 1843. 

" I do not know why you say to me that Mrs. Boott said, that Mr. 
Lowell said that mother's property remains as it was twelve years 
ago. Wright has had the management of it tvdce tivelve years, and 
I do not need any information to assure me that this property would 
be much larger than it is, if it had been in the hands of a person com- 
petent to manage it, even during the last twelve years." 



W. Wells to W. Boott. 
Bee. 8, 1843. 

" I mentioned Mr. Lowell's declaration, because I was told, a few 
days ago, that you said, if J. W. B. continued to manage the prop- 
erty a few years longer, nothing would be left to the heirs. As I 
kneiv nothing of the matter, this statement of Mr. L. pleased me, and 
I thought might you. Had your mother laid up something of the 
income, it might, doubtless, have been increased; hut I suppose she 
wished fur the whole ; hut of this matter I am altogether ignorant." 



NO. XIX. 

Extracts from Letters of Br. Francis Boott. 

Dr. Boott to W. Boott. 
July 3, 1843, in answer to the accoitnt of J. W. Boott' s assault. 

*' Nor can I see any explanation of the outrages to which you have 
been exposed, than that you suggest." 

" All point to your conclusion. At least, it is the only one I would 
willingly believe in. It has taken the direction of preying on his 
kindred, and I can trace it years hack. Kirk alluded to it, as affect- 
ing himself and Anne, when he was last in England, and the very 
first outbreak was enough to show the unsoundness of mind." 



35 



Dr. Boott to W. Boott. 

October 3, 1843, on receiving the original of J. W. B.'s letter to R. C. 

Hooper. 

" What can I say about J. W. B. and his strange delusions ? This 
last is quite enough to satisfy his ' tribunal of honorable men/ that 
on one point he is as mad as any monomaniac ever was. It would 
be to no use to search for the ' insult,' for I have no doubt, in his 
own perplexed mind, it shifts its hues as the chameleon does." 



Dr. Boott to R. C. Hooper. 
October 3, 1843, on the same occasion. 

" You will not expect me to do more than refer to the letter. Its 
own folly and extravagance prevent the necessity of particularly 
alluding to it. I would only remark, that not only its peculiar expres- 
sions, but the hand-writing, denotes an excited state of mind." 

" I never knew a clearer case of monomania." 

" J. W. B.'s conduct for years has puzzled me, and the solution, 
God knows, is a very sad one." 



Dr. Boott to Mrs. Brooks. 
Jan. 4, 1844. 

" I can only express my sympathy in your feelings on the subject 
of Wright's conduct to you and Mr. Brooks. I know of no explana- 
tion of it but a perverted head or heart; and the first is melancholy 
enough, but the preferable of the two. You have done all you could 
do, and must rest in this conviction, pitying the delusion to which you 
and others are victims. I wrote to Mr. Wells, and desired him to 
communicate my letter to you and William. You would see in it the 
evidence of Wright's absorbing suspicions." 



Dr. Boott to W. Boott. 
March 31, 1844. 

" I cannot offer any excuse for J. W. B., who, in whatever way I 
look at you, seems to me the common marplot. You say he is 
crazed. I believe it. But it is north northiccst, for his letters which 
I see here, save one to me, in ansiver to my invitation* are sane 
enough. In that letter he ivas furious, and I gave the extract to Mi-. 

* To make a visit to England. 



36 

Wells. I wish you could see it, for I know not where the original 
is. The purport was, that I had been put iip to ask him to leave 
Boston, and he resented my proposal as if I had offered him an insult." 



Dr. Boott to W. Boott. 
April 18, 1844. 

" I have not seen all her letters," [referring to the letters to Mrs. 
Boott,] — " indeed, only Eliza's and J. W. B.'s. The last enclosed 
an extract from the signed agreement, and said nothing more than 
that Mary " [Mrs. Lyman,] " had taken her room, and that the paper 
was drawn up yb/ the purpose of preventing future misunderstand- 
ings. When I spoke on this subject to my mother, I ran over the 
whole history of these unhappy misunderstandings, and spoke of the 
offensive letter sent to Mr. Hooper, which I told her had been seen 
by others, — and of the amiable feelings of Mr. H. towards the wri- 
ter and all the family. I spoke of the strange conduct towards 
Eliza — of the outrageous treatment and language to yon — and 
called to her remembrance the feelings tohich poor Kirk had upon the 
subject of J. W. B.'s manners to himself and wife," &c. &;c. &c. 

" I asked her what provocations could possibly justify a man of 
J. W. B.'s age, speaking to and treating his kindred in the manner 
he had done, and told her that, in my opinion, the strange requisition 
of a signed agreement from Mary, argued a morbid state of mind, 
which had so deeply impressed you, that Dr. J. had been spoken to 
about it. This was previous to the delivery of your two letters, 
which she has since seen, together with a previous one, detailing 
the conduct of J. W. B. to you. My mother has written to yon and 
Mary, — and to J. W. B., requiring him to settle the accounts. And 
all I would implore of you is that, in your future allusions to these 
subjects, you would, in advising my mother, speak of J. W. B. as 
tenderly as possible. Mary's letter " [Mrs. Lyman's] " is full of gen- 
erous appeals in his behalf, and I suppose the letters from Cam- 
bridge," [from the family of Mr. Wells,] " which I have not seen, are 
giving their version, and Anne" [Mrs. Ralston] "always writes 
kindly of all." 

Dr. Boott to W. Boott. 
June 3, 1844. 

" My mother will uphold J. W. B., and she has the sanction of Mr. 
Loir ell." 

Dr. Boott to W. Boott. 
June 18, 1844. 

" I beg you to consider the position of my mother, with her long 
accustomed confidence in J. W. B., and letters from Mr. Lowell, Dr. 



37 

Jackson, and Mr. Wells, all urging her to continue her trust in him, 
and this timing with the expected sale of the house, the conscious- 
ness of his poverty, and his having to seek some new abode." 

" My own feelings have undergone no change, except, perhaps, as 
to the state of J. W. B.'s mind, in consequence of the letters received 
by my mother from Dr. J. and Mr. L" 



Dr. Boott to W. Poott. 
July 2, 1844. 

" You cannot, at present, change her view of the case," [Mrs. 
Boott's,] ^'that J. W. B. has been persecuted; — and when you 
consider the prestige I have alluded to, and the appeals made to 
her simultaneously from Mr. Lowell, (who enclosed a note to him 
from Dr. Jackson,) from Mr. Wells, Mrs. Ralston, and Mrs. K. Boott, 
and consider that your accusation of mental unsoundness came with 
an inevitable feeling of compassion, and a consequent sense of 
harshness at the idea of a public exposure, and putting him on trial 
before a judge, as if his integrity were questionable, you cannot be 
surprised that my mother condemns you." 

" In ray letter to Mr. Wells, I told him that J. W. B.'s mind 
seemed to me to have grown ' suspicion's sanctuary.' " 



NO. XX. 

Release from Dr. Francis Boott. 
May 29, 1844. On the files of the Probate Office. 

Be it Known to all whom it may concern, That I, Francis 
Boott, of London, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, Physician, one 
of the sons and heirs and devisees, under the Will of my late hon- 
ored father, Kirk Boott, formerly of the city of Boston, in the Com- 
monwealth of Massachusetts, Esquire, deceased, do hereby acknowl- 
edge and declare that I have received full payment and satisfaction 
of all and singular the sums of money due and owing to me from my 
well beloved brother, John Wright Boott, of said Boston, Esquire, as 
Executor of my father's Will aforesaid, and in consideration thereof 
do hereby release and forever quit claim to him, his heirs, executors, 
and administrators, all claims and demands whatsoever for or on ac- 
count thereof; and do hereby request the Judge of Probate, or any 
other Court exercising jurisdiction over any accounts which shall be 
rendered by my said brother, or his legal representatives, touching 
his administration as such Executor, to receive these presents in full 
proof of payment to me of any sum or sums of money which shall be 
credited, or appear to have been owing to me from him, as such 
Executor, and payment of which shall be charged in such account. 



38 

It being, however, expressly declared, that nothing herein contained 
is to be construed as exempting my said brother from any liabihty 
which he is, or may hereafter be, under, to account to me, or my 
legal representatives or assignees, for my proportional share of the 
trust funds established in and by my father's will aforesaid, for the 
benefit of our honored mother during her life, after her interest 
therein shall be determined. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 
twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred 
and forty-four. Francis Boott, M. D. (L.S.) 

London, 29th May, 1844. Witnesses to the signature of Dr. 
Boott, Edward Everett, Francis R. Rives. 

Examined. H. M. Willis, Meg. 

A true copy of record. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



NO. XXL 

Release from Mrs. Boott. 
May 29, 1844. On the files of the Probate Office. 

Whereas, I, the undersigned Mary Boott, now residing in Lon- 
don, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, widow of Kirk Boott, late of 
the city of Boston, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Esquire, 
deceased, have been, since the decease of my said husband, and now 
am, entitled to the income of a trust fund, established in and by his 
last will and testament, amounting to the sum of one hundred thou- 
sand dollars, and also have been and am entitled to the use and 
occupation of the mansion house, in said Boston, as provided for in 
said will. And whereas, my beloved son, John Wright Boott, of said 
Boston, Esquire, was appointed sole Executor of said will, and as 
such, and by virtue of the provisions thereof, became, and has ever 
since continued to be, the trustee of said fund of one hundred thou- 
sand dollars, and has fully and faithfully paid me, or appropriated 
and accounted to me, for all the income thereof, to which I have 
been, or am in any wise, entitled, to my entire satisfaction and ap- 
proval, and has continued in the occupation of said house, and its 
appurtenances, by my direction, and used the same as my represen- 
tative, and conformably to my wishes ; — and by reason of the un- 
limited confidence always existing between us, the settlement of 
periodical accounts has not been thought necessary, and, as far as I 
am concerned, never would be. But in order to prevent any future 
misapprehensions on the part of others, to whom, if ignorant of the 
circumstances, my said son might hereafter be supposed to be 
accountable ; and to obviate all pretence of any future claims against 
him, under me, by reason of his not having rendered and settled 
accounts at the Probate Ofiice, or otherwise touching said funds, and 



said mansion house, it seems to me proper that he should be fur- 
nished with full proof of his faithful administration of said trust, so 
far as I am interested, and of his having used and occupied said 
mansion house as my representative, and by my appointment, and 
without accountability for any rent or payment therefor ; 

Now, therefore, be it known to all whom it may concern, that I, 
the said Mary Boott, in consideration of the premises, and in testi- 
mony of my full confidence and approbation of the doings of my said 
son, in all the matters aforesaid, and of one dollar by him paid, do here- 
by acknowledge full payment and satisfaction of all sums of money 
whatsoever, which, at any time or times, have been or now are due or 
owing to me from the said John Wright Boott, for or on account of 
the income of the said trust fund, or otherwise, under or by virtue 
of the will of my said husband, in any manner whatsoever, or for or 
on account of any of the chattels and effects specifically bequeathed 
to me in said will, and which have come to his hands or possession, 
and do hereby remise, release, and forever quit-claim to him, his 
heirs, executors, and administrators, all claims and demands what- 
soever, in respect to, or on account of, all and singular the said sums 
of money, chattels, and effects, and all claims and demands whatso- 
ever, for or on account of any use, occupation or enjoyment of said 
mansion house and its appurtenances, and do hereby request the 
Judge of Probate, or any Court exercising jurisdiction of the said 
will, and trust accounts relating thereto, to admit this instrument in 
full proof of any payments made to me of the said sums of money, or 
any of them, which shall be credited to me, or shall appear to have 
been heretofore due or owing to me, and which payments my said 
son shall charge as having been so made in any account or accounts 
which he may render as such Executor or Trustee. 

In witness whereof, I have hereto set my hand and seal at Lon- 
don, this twenty-ninth day of May, A.D. eighteen hundred and forty- 
four. Mary Boott. (L.S.) 

London, 29th May, 1844. Witnesses to the signature of Mrs. 
Mary Boott, Edward Everett, Francis R. Rives. 

Examined. H. M. Willis, Reg. 

A true copy of record. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



NO. XXII. 

Letter — W. Boott to J. W. Boott. 

Boston, June 3, 1844. 
J. W. Boott, Esq. 

It is more than twenty-seven years since my father died, and you, 
the executor of his will, have made no return to the Probate office 
(or to the heirs, as far as I know,) of your executorship. 



40 

As one of the heirs who own the estate subject to my mother's 
Ufa interest, I desire to have such a return made, and I request you 
to make it as soon as you conveniently can. 

"William Boott. 



NO. XXIII. 

Letter — C. G. Loring to W. Boott. 

39 Court Street, 5th June, 1844. 
To W. Boott, Esq. 

Dear Sir, — Mr. Jno. W. Boott has placed in my hands your note 
to him of 3d inst, with a request that I would reply to it ; and I 
have the pleasure to say that Mr. Boott is making arrangements for 
rendering, at the Probate office, the returns to which you refer, and 
that no avoidable delay will take place. Yours, respectfully, 

C. G. LoRINGr 



NO. XXIV. 

W. BooTT TO J. A. Lowell. 

Boston, June 22, 1844. 
Dear Sir: 

I have, with great surprise, lately learned from England, that you 
have been writing to my mother about the difficulties existing in 
her family, and that your opinion or advice has had an influence in 
determining her conduct towards some of her children. 

Will you have the kindness to send me a copy of what you have 
written to her, and to give me the reason for your interference ? 

I have also learned, at second hand, from Dr. J. Jackson, that you 
made a statement to him last year, upon which he gave an opinion 
that my brother Wright was of unsound mind ; that you afterwards 
made a second statement to him, which led him to reverse his opin- 
ion ; and that he, at your request, gave you this second opinion in 
writing. 

If these things so happened, will you oblige me by informing me 
when your second statement was made, — what it was, — why the 
precaution was taken of getting Dr. Jackson to write his opinion, — 
and whether, at the time of making your second statement, you had 
inquired for and were possessed of, the facts necessary for forming 
a correct judgment upon the point in question ? 

With many apologies for this trouble, 

I am. Dear Sir, 

Yours very truly, 

Wm. Boott. 

J. A. Lowell, Esq., Boston. 



41 

NO. XXV. 

Letter — J. A. Lowell to W. Boott. 

Boston, 24th June, 1844. 
Wm. Boott, Esq. 

My Dear Sir, — I am willing to believe that your note of Satur- 
day, though somewhat peremptory in form, was not intended to be 
disrespectful or unfriendly. On that belief I will answer it. 

I never wrote to your mother in my life. I never gave, directly 
or indirectly, any opinion or advice that could influence her conduct 
towards her children. 

I never made any statement of facts to Dr. Jackson, except such 
as referred to the state of feeling between the parties — facts suffi- 
ciently notorious. 

I did not request of him to reduce his opinion to writing. 

I will only add, that many dissensions and family quarrels, 
especially with persons of a naturally reserved temperament, have 
their origin in the hasty adoption of second-hand rumors. 

I did write to Frank on the subject of the state of his brother's 
mind. If you are disposed to call at my office in a spirit of friendli- 
ness, I will read you that letter with pleasure. 

I am, dear Sir, yours very truly, 

J. A. Lowell. 



NO. XXVL 

Will of John Wright Boott. 

The last Will and Testament of John Wright Boott, of Boston, in the 
County of Suffolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

I, John Wright Boott aforesaid, declare the following to be my 
last Will and Testament: — 1 give, devise and bequeath to my 
brother-in-law, William Wells, my stock of wines and my chaise. 
I give, devise and bequeath to Ann, widow of my late brother Kirk, 
my prints and pictures and busts. I give, devise and bequeath to 
Kirk, her son, my tomb at Mount Auburn, to be kept for the use of 
the family, and ray share in the Boston Athengeum, bequeathed to 
me by my late father, and my guns and sporting apparatus. I give, 
devise and bequeath to Mr. Henry Sibley all my tools and machines 
and materials for mechanical purposes, and books relating thereto. 
I give, devise and bequeath to John A. Lowell, Esq., all my plants, 
and gardening apparatus, and botanical books. I further give, de- 
vise and bequeath to John A. Lowell, Esq., his heirs, executors, or 
assigns for ever, all my interest in reversion in and of certain real 
and personal property, held in trust, under the provisions of the Will 
of my late father, and all the interest in reversion in certain real 
and personal property, held in trust under the provisions of the Will 



42 

of my late father, which, was conveyed to me by William Lyman 
and Mary his wife, and all the interest in reversion in certain real 
and personal property held in trust under the provisions of the Will 
of my late father, which was conveyed to me by Robert Ralston 
and Ann, his wife, in trust: first, to pay and discharge a debt of 
twenty-five thousand dollars which I owe to him; and after that 
shall have been discharged — secondly : to pay to each of the 
daughters of my brother-in-law, William Wells, their heirs and 
assigns, viz. : Mary B. Wells, Sarah B. Wells. Elizabeth B. Wells, 
and Frances B. Newell, wife of the Rev. William Newell, one thou- 
sand dollars : — thirdly, to pay to Ann, widow of my late brother 
Kirk, her heirs and assigns, four thousand dollars : — and lastly, to 
pay to Ann, wife of Robert Ralston, all the remainder of my estate, 
real, personal and mixed ; and I hereby declare her to be my resi- 
duary legatee. I hereby appoint John A. Lowell, Esq., to be the 
sole Executor of my Will. In witness whereof, I, John Wright 
Boott, hereto set my hand, the ninth day of September, in the year 
eighteen hundred and forty-four. 

Jno. W. Boott. 



On the day and year above written, we, the undersigned, were 
present, and saw the said John Wright Boott sign his name to the 
aforegoing instrument, and heard him declare the same to be his 
last Will and Testament, and request us to subscribe the same as 
witnesses. We further certify that the said testator was of sound 
and disposing mind. In token whereof, we hereto set our hands, in 
his presence, and in presence of each other. 

Charles P. Curtis, 
B. R. Curtis, 
Gardiner G. Hubbard. 

A true copy of a paper writing filed in the Probate Oflice, Suffolk 
County. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



NO. XXVII. 

Letter — W. Boott to C. G. Loring. 

Charles G. Loring, Esq. 

Boston, Nov. 7th, 1844. 

Dear Sir, — Five months ago I wrote to my brother, Mr. J. W. 
Boott, and requested him to render at the Probate Office his ac- 
counts as Executor of my father's Will. You replied to my letter, 
and assured me that no avoidable delay would take place in putting 
in the accounts. Some time afterwards Mr. Lowell gave me a 
message from you to the effect that you were absent on a journey, 
and would attend to them on your return home. 

I have heard nothing in relation to them since, and as I am not 
aware of any reason for tliis continued delay, I write to ask you if 



43 

you can inform me what progress has been made in them, and when 
they will be returned. I am, dear Sir, 

Resp'y yours, 

W. BOOTT. 



NO. XXVIII. 

Letter — C. G. Loring to W. Boott. 

To Wm. Boott, Esq. 

Dear Sir, — In reply to your note, — which was received at my 
ofSce during my absence from town, — I regret to say that the ac- 
counts of your brother have not yet been made up, though I believe 
that the materials are all now at hand. 

I have communicated your note to Mr. Lowell, who, I believe, 
sees him frequently, and hope for a very early attention to the sub- 
ject. In my last interview, I was led to expect that the accounts 
would be then very shortly rendered. 

Yours, respectfully, 

C. G. LOKING. 

NO. XXIX. 

Executor's Second Probate Account. 

Second Account of John Wright Boott, as Executor of the Will of 
Kirk Boott, Esq., of Boston, deceased. 
The said Executor charges himself as follows : 

Amount of Inventory rendered Jan. 12, 1818 $36,984.75 

Cash received from the firm of Kirk Boott & 
Sons, in part of the testator's interest in that 
copartnership, and invested in stocks to con- 
stitute the trust fund, as by his account set- 
tled at a Probate Court, May 11, 1818 116,783.95 

Cash received of Boott & Lowell in liquida- 
tion of the outstanding property of Kirk 

Boott & Sons 69,389.99 

Gain on sale of stocks, viz. : — 

On sale of shares in Suffolk Ins. Co., $2,604.06 

Less loss on sale of U. S. 6's. 

stock - . - . $679.37 

Less loss on sale of U. S. 7's. 

stock - - - - 1,687,08 

Less loss on sale of Sufifolk 

Bank shares - - 100.00 

2,466.45 

*133.61 

Income received on the trust fund for the 

widow, from March, 1818, to Nov., 1844 274,686.36 

$497,978.66 

* These iigures show a trifling error of $4 somewhere. If the figures added and sub- 
tracted are correct, the amount carried out should be $137.61, instead of $133.61. The 
figures are correctly printed, according to the original on the files of the Probate office. 



44 

And prays allowance for the following items : — 

Furniture, wine, &c., specifically de- 
vised to the widow - - $2,684.75 

Store in State street, devised to J. 

W. Boott .... 9,600.00 

Land at West Boston, devised to 

widow as residuary legatee - 500.00 

Pew in King's Chapel, devised to 

widow as residuary legatee - 200.00 

Cash paid Probate fees, Jan. 20, 1817 12.50 

Cash paid Copies and Will and In- 
ventory Certificate - - 8.00 

Cash paid advertising Notice of Ad- 
ministration - . - - 1.00 

$13,006.25 

Cash paid Probate fees. May 11, 1818 - 1.50 

Cash paid to the heirs, nine in number, 

$10,000.00 each 90,000.00 

Income paid to or for account, and by order 

of the widow 274,686.36 

Leaving in his hands to be accounted for - 120,284.55 

$497,978.66 

To meet which he has the following property : — 
39 shares in the Boston Manufacturing 

Co., of 18 shares, cost $1,150 each $20,700.00 
21 " " 1,300 " 27,300.00 

$48,000.00 

71 shares in the Merrimac Manufacturing Com- 
pany, cost 71,000.00 

Mansion House in Bowdoin Square, - 24,000.00 

Stable in Bowdoin Street, deeded to Execu- 
tor by J. W. Boott, in 1831, - - - 2,500.00 

$145,500.00 

Less cash balance due to the Executor, - 25,215.45 



$120,284.55 
John W, Boott, Executor. 
Boston, Nov. 18, 1844. 



Suffolk, ss. At a Probate Court, held at Boston, in said county, 
on Monday, the sixteenth day of December, in the year 1844, the 
foregoing account having been presented for allowance, and public 
notice thereof having been given to the parties interested, according 
to the order of said Court, to appear at a Probate Court, held at said 
Boston, on Monday, the ninth day of December, current, the consid- 
eration thereof was thence continued to this day, and no objection 
being made thereto, and the same having been verified by the oath 



45 

of the subscriber thereto, and examined and considered by the 
Court, it is decreed that the same be allowed. 

WiLLARD Phillips, Judge of Probate. 

Examined. H. M. Willis, Register. 

A true Copy. Attest, H. M. Willis, Register. 



NO. XXX. 

Release from Edward Brooks and others. 

Dec. 9, 1844. On the records of the Probate Office. 

Know all men by these presents, That we, the parties exe- 
cuting this instrument, heirs at law, and representing heirs at law of 
Kirk Boott, late of Boston, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
deceased, in consideration of one dollar to us paid by John W Boott, 
of Boston, aforesaid, merchant, have remised, released, and dis- 
charged, and by these presents do remise, release and discharge 
him, the said John W. Boott, his heirs, executors, and administra- 
tors, from all claims and demands, of whatsoever name or descrip- 
tion, which we or either of us ever had, now have, or may hereafter 
have, against him, the said John W. Boott, as Executor of the last 
Will and Testament of the said Kirk Boott, or as Trustee under any 
of the provisions of said Will. In witness whereof, we have here- 
unto set our hands and seals, this ninth day of December, in the year 
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-four. 

Edward Brooks. (L.S.) 

Eliza Brooks. (L.S.) 

Frances Wells. (L.S.) 

William Boott. (L.S.) 

William Wells. (L.S.) 

J. A. Lowell, 1 /'T «? \ 

For himself and Edward Brooks, J y^-^) 
Trustees under the Will of Kirk Boott. 

Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of Hugh Matthews, 

Examined. H. M. Willis, Reg. 

A true copy of record. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



46 



NO. XXXI. 

Letter — Mrs. Brooks to Mrs. Boott, 
December 11, 1844. 

[Mrs. Boott, after the receipt of letters from Mr. Lowell, refused, 
apparently, to believe statements which had been sent to her from. 
Mr. Wm. Boott, respecting the insanity of Mr. Wright Booti, and his 
inexcusable conduct, if he was not insane, to several members of the 
family. In a letter to Mrs. Lyman, she spoke very harshly of the 
conduct of Mrs. Brooks, as well as myself, in not signing the deed 
of the house, and as if we had thereby been instrumental in depriv- 
ing her of the increased income which she needed. This letter 
from Mrs. Brooks was written in answer to that suggestion, and not 
with the view of accounting for Mr. Wright Boott's conduct in par- 
ticulars of which she had already been informed. It does not, there- 
fore, touch the point of insanity, nor allude to that subject. The 
principal object was to make Mrs. Boott aware, if she was not al- 
ready, of the reasons why she had received in England only $5,000 
a year, while entitled to an income of more than $12,000 a year, 
and that the intention of those who refused to sign the deed was to 
secure to her in future all the income which belonged to her. This 
letter, or a copy of it, was sent back by Mrs. Boott to Mr. Lowell, 
and came to his hands some time before his testimony at the coro- 
ner's inquest. This gives its statements a degree of importance 
they might not otherwise have. The material facts Mrs. Brooks, of 
course, derived from me.] 

Boston, Dec. 11th, 1844, 
My Dear Mother, 

I have been made quite ill by your harsh and cruel remarks on my 
conduct and motives, in your letter to Mrs. Lyman of Nov. 17th; 
and, though I am hardly fit to leave my bed today, yet the distress 
of my mind may be somewhat alleviated by writing to you, in the 
hope that you will do what you can to cure the deep wound you 
have inflicted, or at least to vindicate myself, if possible, and thus 
prevent, in future, remarks which, I call Heaveu to witness, are 
entirely undeserved. You will, I think, on reflection, do me the 
justice to say, that it was quite impossible for me, or any one, to 
suspect that " you were deprived of any of the comforts necessary to 
your declining age," when it was apparent to every body that you 
have, for years, been maintaining one of the most expensive estab- 
lishments here, when, by renting it, you could easily have made a 
considerable addition to your income, which, even as it is, has been 
for some years, the very large sum of $12,000 or $14,000, and at 
times even more, and when you have, for nearly twenty years, an- 
nually paid Mr. J. A. Lowell $1,500, as the interest of a private debt 
of Mr. Boott's. You imply that my conduct has been influenced 



47 

by a wish to cut off your comforts. Ah I my dear mother, if you 
could but know the pain you have given me ! I must once more 
repeat, that our sole motive has been to secure to your use the 
$100,000 left you by my father, and the $46,000 arising from the 
sale of the house. You must be aware that my father's orders were 
very positive as to the disposal of his estate, and Mr. Lowell has 
more than once said that " not a single provision of his Will had 
been compHed with." Many of us were minors at the time of my 
father's death, when he bequeathed us lo your care and to that of 
Mr. Boott, with an expressed hope he would not see our interests 
suffer. And how has Mr. Boott fulfilled the sacred trust of a dying 
father? By wasting the estate he toiled so hard to earn; by heap- 
ing insults and injuries on the family, and, when we could no longer 
submit to his wrongs, as for your sake we had done for years, he sets 
us at defiance, and forbids our entering our father's house, even to 
see in her own room a widowed sister, in her state of destitution 
and sorrow. You, by your countenance and approval of his conduct, 
— by withholding from us all expression of sympathy and approba- 
tion of our long forbearance and moderation, — help to fix the stig- 
ma cast upon us in the eyes of the world, and obhge us to tell the 
truth to our friends, that to them we may justify ourselves, even if 
it be by placing the whole fault where it in truth belongs. We 
have grieved at the view you have taken of these matters, but we 
consider it a farther proof, if one were needed, of the lengths to 
which the misrepresentations of the other members of the family 
have been carried, and which, here, we are able easily to disprove. 
We learned from Dr. Boott's letters, that you had been influenced 
by letters from Dr. Jackson, Mr. Lowell, Blrs. K. Boott, the Wellses 
and Ralstons. Dr. Jackson and Mr. Lowell deny ever having writ- 
ten to you ; and, after some deliberation, I wrote the enclosed note 
to Mrs. K. Boott. She refuses to answer it, and our intercourse is 
at an end. We are constantly hearing of the violent language some 
of her family employ in speaking against us. As to our signing the 
deed of the house, which, by the way, we have never been asked to 
do, I must say we still think we have taken the only proper course ; 
and that is now denied by no one who knows the facts. Judge War- 
ren, a cool, clear-headed, and impartial man, told me we had done 
exactly what was right, and that, as a legal man, he could not ad- 
vise our acting otherwise. By signing the deed, we should have 
given our approbation of Mr. Boott's conduct, which would have 
been reason enough for refusing ; but a much stronger motive, and 
one that influenced us most was, the fact, that out of the $46,000 
Mr. Boott intended to pay a private debt of his own of $25,000 to 
Mr. Lowell, as Mr. Lowell said on 'Change ; and, moreover, a letter, 
in your own handwriting, was handed about, we were told, giving 
your authority to Mr. Boott to build himself, in the country, a house 
and green -house, with the money arising from the sale of the house ; 
which would, most effectually, have prevented your receiving one 
dollar of the money, and been in direct opposition to my father's 
Will, and contrary to all justice to the other heirs. In the summer, 



48 

a paper, drawn up by Mr. Lowell*^ called Mr. Boott's accounts, and 
of which a great deal has been said, was shown to Dr. Jackson and 
others. By this paper it appeared, (though without stating that 
your income was over $12,000 or $14,000,) that $5,000 has been 
sent to you yearly. To my great surprise I have lately been told, 
by persons of great weight in town, that it is now reported that the 
rest of your income has been divided amongst the heirs I I cannot 
pretend to say what part of your own income you have received, or 
what the other members of the family have been paid ; but this I 
do know and say, that not one cent have I ever received, or wished 
for, or could have been induced to accept ; nor has William or Mary 
ever received any thing till you sent Mary the £50 this autumn. 
Stories are circulated affecting William's reputation, which one day 
he may be able to trace, so as to vindicate himself Mr. Brooks's 
character has been assailed in a most unwarrantable manner ; and 
do you wish or expect him to be silent under such wrongs, and to 
keep back the truth ? We were disposed quietly to withdraw from 
such of the family as we could not but consider the cause of all this 
trouble ; and, for more than a year, we heard in silence gross exag- 
gerations and misrepresentations, till, at last, in self-defence, we 
were forced to strip the whole story of all falsehoods, and let the 
truth come out. We are ready to lay the case, proofs and all, be- 
fore any court, if we are driven to do it, though even now, out of re- 
gard to you, we are willing to pass over all that we can do, consist- 
ently with a proper regard to our own reputations ; and I am sure, my 
dear mother, you cannot ask more of us. Mr. Brooks has this week 
had two long conversations with Mr. Lowell, who said he agreed 
entirely with Mr. Brooks in his views, and Mr. Lowell denied ever 
having said or thought, that Mr. Boott had managed the estate well, 
or that he considered him a fit person to have the care of property. 
Mr. Lowell then went on to say, " If you, Mr. Brooks, or I, or any 
good man of business, had had the care of that estate, what a noble 
property it would have been. Mr. Boott should have been worth 
$100,000 ; each heir should have had a handsome fortune, and Mrs. 
Boott, with more money to spend yearly than she ever has had, 
should have laid by $50,000 to have bequeathed as she liked, and 
that it was a sort of miracle that any thing was left " He told Mr. 
Brooks, that neither he nor Mr. Boott had ever considered that debt 
of $25,000 in any light but as a private one of Mr. Boott's ; and Mr. 
Brooks replied, " And yet, a part of the estate was pledged to you 
as security for it, and Mr. Boott has paid you, out of his mother's 
income, more than $30,000, as interest ! " which Mr. Lowell could 
not deny. And yet, dear mother, you accuse me of cutting off your 
comforts, when your straitened means have been the effect of Mr. 
Boott's mismanagement. The stocks pledged to Mr. Lowell con- 
tinued in the same state till a few days after the accounts were 

* This statement was- made in consequence of Mr. Lowell's telling Mr. Brooks, in June, 
'44, that " whatever accounts there were, he drew up;" but he now says that he did 
not refer to those alluded to above, and that he did not draw them up. The account thus 
spoken of is not the account of Nov. IS, in which the final settlement was made, but a 
mere memorandum of an earher date. 



49 

rendered, when Mr. Chad wick met Mr. Brooks, and told him that 
Mr. Lowell had reconveyed them to Mr. Boott ; thus publicly ac- 
knowledging he had no right to hold them. Mr. Boott has, more- 
over, taken advantage of our discharge, given him at a time of great 
pecuniary distress and embarrassment, as an act of kindness and 
not one of justice, to bring in his accounts in such a way as to make 
it appear as if the estate was in debt to him $25,000, just the amount 
of his private debt to Mr. Lowell, when, by his own showing, even 
at his own high estimates, your $100,000 is not entire, and when 
William has not been paid any part of his portion. Thus it is clear- 
ly proved, that Mr. Boott takes $55,000, over and above what he 
has spent and lost, and besides holds the reversions of Mrs Lyman 
and Mrs. Ealston, leaving the former entirely dependent on you. 
This $55,000 would have formed a noble fund for you to have pro- 
vided for those members of the family who need it so much ; and 
yet we know that Mr. Boott has given out here, and written to you, 
"that he has always sacrificed himself for the family" ! You are 
at liberty to make what use you choose of my letter. Write to Mr. 
Lowell, and ask him, as a man of honor, if it is not all true. You 
are bound, in justice to all parties, to seek to know the truth. 

And now, my dear dear mother, with a heart almost broken by your 
letter, I bid you farewell, with the most solemn assurance that I 
never intentionally offended or injured you in my life, and least of 
all now, when my feeble health makes the continuance of my life so 
uncertain. I hope I have said enough to alter your impression, though 
if I had the strength I could add a great deal more. If you con- 
tinue to think of me as a person who, from any cause, could deprive 
you of your comforts and pleasures, lean only lament it ; and try to 
draw what consolation I may froni a consciousness that your cen- 
sure is entirely unmerited. I shall still, with true affection, pray 
God to bless and protect you. Yours, truly, 

Eleza Brooks. 



NO. XXXII. 

Letter — Mrs. Brooks to Mrs. K. Boott. 

Referred to in the foregoing. 

Nov. 3, 1844. 

Dear Anne : — We have heard, from various sources, in the 
course of the summer, that my mother has been very much influ- 
enced, in family matters, by letters from Dr. Jackson, Mr. Lowell, 
Mrs. Kirk Boott, &c. On application to Dr. Jackson, he denied ever 
having written to England on the subject, and professed an entire 
ignorance of the merits of the case. Mr. Lowell also denied having 
written to Mrs. Boott on the subject, though he has written to Dr. 

B . As to yourself, out of regard to your peculiar situation, and 

my husband's relation to you, as a trustee of your property, we have 
taken particular pains to avoid implicating you in any way in these 



50 

disputes, and you must admit have always, with you, avoided the 
subject. Any impression you may have, must be, therefore, de- 
rived entirely from one side, and we are unwilling to beheve that 
you could have taken part against us without ever having informed 
yourself as to our grounds of complaint. It may turn out, as we 
hope it will, that you have not done so. We feel ourselves deeply 
injured, and have proceeded, in all that we have done, with the ut- 
most deliberation. If it should prove that you have written to my 
mother, as reported, will you be good enough to let us know what 
statements you have made, and on what grounds. We are anxious 
to know this, as you may have information of which we are ignorant, 

and we are very desirous, as Mr. B said to Dr. Jackson, to be set 

right, if -we. are laboring under any mistake. 
Summer Street, Nov. M, 1844. 



NO. xxxm. 

Letter — Edward Brooks to John A. Lowell. 

Dec. 17, 1844. 
My Dear Sir: 

I send you the deed executed as you requested. You spoke to 
me of another deed or paper, to be signed by you and myself as 
Trustees, under the will of our late friend. Kirk Boott, of Lowell. 

It is my intention immediately to resign that trust, and I should 
much prefer that the deed should be signed by the new Trustee, or 
by yourself alone. 

The steps taken by myself and my wife in this matter, have been 
based on the idea of a compromise for the sake of peace. 

As a Trustee, particularly where there is a variance between the 
cestui que trusts and the Trustee, I am very differently situated. 

I am not prepared to say that on a full, fair and just settlement of 
accounts, the executor is entitled to claim a balance of $25,000. 

In ray own case, I have a right to waive any claim I may be sup- 
posed to have. Not so as Trustee. 

Presuming that you have no doubt as to the equity of the claim 
made by the executor, you can sign the deed without scruple. 

I shall send in my resignation of the trust to-day or to-morrow, 
and as this will make a settlement of accounts necessary, I shall 
rely on you to have it in readiness for the next Probate day. 

Yours very truly, 

Edward Brooks. 

J. A. Lowell, Esq. 



51 



NO. XXXIV. 

Letter — C. H. Warren to E. Brooks. 

Boston, Dec. 19th, 1844. 
Dear Sir: — 

In compliance with your request, I state to you, very briefly, the 
circumstances within my knowledge, relating to the compromise 
recently made between the heirs of the late Mr. Boott. 

On my return to the city, on Nov. 24, I saw you for the first time 
upon the subject of Mr. J. W. Boott's accounts as executor and 
trustee. You then entered into a fall history of the circumstances 
of the estate, and the management of the property by the executor, 
with which you were very much dissatisfied. You handed me, at 
that time, a paper prepared by yourself, and addressed to the Judge 
of Probate, setting forth the particulars in which you thought Mr. B. 
had failed to discharge his duty as executor ; which paper you pro- 
posed to file in the Probate Office. At the same interview, you 
disclaimed any imputation of moral delinquency or fraudulent con- 
duct on the part of Mr. B., and stated, that although you did not 
believe that the account presented by Mr. B. was correct, or that he 
had the means of presenting a correct account, still you were not 
disposed to enter upon a rigid investigation of it, if the property re- 
maining in his hands could be transferred to some other person, so 
that you could be certain that its future management would be such 
as to uphold the trust fund, and ensure a fulfilment of the wishes of 
the testator in regard to it. 

It seemed to me, upon reflection, that your views of the subject 
were such as admitted of an adjustment of along standing difficulty, 
in a manner honorable to all parties ; and, from that time, I addressed 
myself to the accomplishment of that object. 

I advised you not to file the paper, before referred to, in the Pro- 
bate Office, as it might tend to excite further ill feeling, and would, 
perhaps, present an insuperable obstacle to a compromise between 
the parties. I then had a conversation with Mr. Loring, the counsel 
of Mr. B., and intimated to him that I should be most happy in being 
instrumental in making an adjustment of the matter in controversy. 
He met my advances promptly, and asked me to have an interview 
with Mr. Lowell. Mr. Lowell afterwards called upon me, and, after 
a full and free conversation upon the subject, I proposed to him to 
ivaive all examination of the account and its vouchers, that Mr. B. 
should resign his trust, and that the heirs, upon his doing so, should 
give him a release from all further claims upon him. 

At a subsequent time, I named Mr. C. G. Loring, as a gentleman 
whose appointment would be perfectly satisfactory to yourself and 
Mr. W. Boott. 

Mr. Lowell entertained the strongest belief that the account pre- 
sented by Mr. J. W. Boott was correct, and could be sustained 
throughout, and it would certainly be unjust to him, to say that his 
subsequent conduct in the matter was founded upon any distrust on 



52 

that point. At least, he did not intimate any such distrust, nor did 
I put my proposition to him on any such ground. 

The only motive I presented for the adoption of the proposed 
course, was, the great desirableness of preventing any farther diffi- 
culty in regard to pecuniary matters, among the members of the 
family. 

Mr. Lowell, after consultation with Mr. J. W. Boott, acceded to 
my proposition; and as a consequence, Mr. B. has resigned the 
trust, JN'ir. Loring has been appointed trustee, and property to the 
amount of $100,000 or more, besides the purchase-money of the 
house ($46,000), has been transferred to him. The income of this 
goes to Mrs. Boott for her life, and upon her death the principal will 
be divided among the heirs. I should have stated that the amount 
above-named is subject to the payment of about $18,000 to Mr. J. 
W. Boott, the balance claimed as due to him on the account, after 
deducting dividends on Merrimack stock, received by him after the 
rendition of the account. 

Tiie release was then executed by yourself, Mrs. Brooks, and Mr. 
"W. Boott, and thus the whole matter was settled. No party ap- 
peared in the Probate Court to question Mr, J. W. Boott'' s account ; 
and, so far as 1 heard, no examination of vouchers has been had or 
sousht. I will only stale further, that upon the facts stated to me, 
/ did advise you to withhold your signatures to the deed of the house, 
until all matters in controversy ivere adjusted. 

In my view of the matter, no concession has been made by either 
party as to the correctness or incorrectness of the account presented 
in the Probate Otfice ; but, there being no imputation of fraud, the 
compromise has been etfected upon a basis wholly irrespective of 
that question. I am, very truly, yours, 

C. H. Warren. 

Edward Brooks, Esq., Boston. 



NO. XXXV. 

Executor's Third Probate Account, Dec. 23, 1844. 

Third Account of John W. Boott, as Executor of the Will of Kirk 
Boott, Esq., deceased. 

The said Executor charges himself 

With balance of his second account, allowed December 

16th, instant, $120,284.55 

With gain on sale of the mansion house in Bowdoin 

Square, above the appraisement, - - - 22,000.00 

With dividend received on 71 shares Merrimack Manu- 
facturing Company, 10 per cent, - - - 7,100.00 



Amount carried forward $149,384.55 



53 



Amount brought forward $149,384.55 

And prays allowance for the following property, trans- 
ferred and paid over to Charles G. Loring, Esq., trus- 
tee under the said Will, to "w-it: — 
39 shares in the Boston Manufacturing Co., cost 

as per account rendered and approved, - $48,000.00 
71 shares Merrimack Manufacturing Co., - 71,000.00 
Stable in Bowdoin street, ... - 2,500.00 
Note of Wm. Lawrence, Esq., for 
purchase-money of estate in Bow- 
doin Square, - - - - $46,000.00 
From the proceeds of which the said 
trustee is to pay the cash balance 
due to the executor, - - 25,215.45 20,784.55 142,284.55 



Leaving in his hands income received on account of Mrs. 

Boott, and to be paid to her, or for her account, $7,100,00 

Jno. W. Boott, Executor. 
Boston, Dec. 23d, 1844. 

The above account has been exhibited to me, and is approved as 
correct, I representing all parties interested, as Trustee. 

Charles G. Loring, Trustee. 

Suffolk, ss. At a Probate Court, held at Boston, in said Coun- 
ty, on Monday, the twenty-third day of December, in the year 1844. 
The foregoing account, having been presented for allowance, and 
notice thereof having been given to the parties interested, who have 
assented thereto, by Charles G. Loring, Esq., Trustee. And the same 
having been verified by the oath of the subscriber thereto, and ex- 
amined and considered by the Court, it is decreed that the same be 
allowed. Willard Phillips, Judge of Probate. 

Examined. H. M. Willis, Register. 

A true copy of Record. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



NO. XXXVI. 

Inventory of C. G. Loring, Trustee. 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Suffolk, ss. The Honorable Willard Phillips, Esquire, Judge of the 
Court of Probate, in and for the County of Svjfolk, aforesaid, 

To George A. Goddard, Lemuel Stanwood, and J. Pickering 
Putnam, Greeting. 

You are hereby appointed and empowered, as three suitable per- 
sons to appraise all the real estate, goods, and chattels, rights and 



54 

credits, which Kirk Boott, late of Boston, in said County of Suffolk, 
Merchant, deceased, gave and bequeathed in and by his last Will, 
in trust for the use of certain persons, as therein set forth, comprised 
in the Inventory, according to your best skill and judgment, as soon 
as may be, in dollars and cents, according to the present value 
thereof, being first sworn to the faithful discharge of that trust. 

And when you shall have completed the said appraisement as 
aforesaid, you are to deliver the same, together with this Warrant 
with your doings thereon, sealed up, to Charles G. Loring, Trustee 
under said Will, who is hereby accordingly directed so to return and 
exhibit the same, on oath, into the Probate Office of the said County 
of Suffolk, within three months from the time of taking upon him- 
self that trust. 

Witness the said Willard Phillips, Esquire, Judge as aforesaid, 
under his hand and seal official, this sixteenth day of December, in 
the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-four. 

Willard Phillips, Judge of Probate. 

Countersigned, H. M. Willis, Register. 



Suffolk, ss. Boston, December 19th, in the year 1844. 

Then the above-named George A. Goddard, Lemuel Stanwood, 
John Pickering Putnam, personally appeared and made oath that 
they would faithfully and impartially discharge the trust reposed in 
them by the foregoing warrant. Before me, 

J. A. Lowell, Justice of the Peace. 



To the Honorable Willard Phillips, Esquire, Judge of the Court of 
Probate for the County of Suffolk. 

Pursuant to the Warrant to us directed from your Honor, we, the 
subscribers, the Committee therein named, having been first sworn, 
have made the following appraisement of the estate and effects 
comprised in the Inventory of the real estate, goods, chattels, rights, 
and credits, of which Kirk Boott, late of Boston, in said County of 
Suffolk, Merchant, deceased, gave and devised in and by his last 
Will, in trust, for the use of certain persons, as therein set forth, as 
made by the Trustee under said Will : — 

Amount of Real Estate, - - - $1,500 
Amount of Personal Estate, - - 144,500 



$146,000 
The particulars of which are mentioned in said Inventory on file. 
George A. Goddard, ") 
Lemuel Stanwood, > Committee. 
J. Pickering Putnam, ) 



55 



Suffolk, ss. At a Probate Court, held at Boston, in said Coun- 
ty, on Monday, the twenty-third day of December, in the year one 
thousand eight hundred forty-four. 

Charles G. Loring, the said Trustee, exhibits the foregoing, and 
makes oath that it contains a true and perfect Inventory of all the 
estate of said deceased, devised in trust as aforesaid, that has come 
to his hands or knowledge, and if any thing further shall hereafter 
appear, he will render a just and true account thereof into the Pro- 
bate Office. It is ordered by the Judge of said Court, that the same 
be accepted and filed, and that this decree, together with the said 
warrant, be recorded. Willard Phillips, Judge of Probate. 

Examined. H. M. Willis, Register. 



The following Inventory is endorsed on the preceding Return : 

A lot of land, situated in Boston, in the rear of Bowdoin 
Street, with a brick stable thereon, numbered " Two " 
on a plan recorded with Suffolk Deeds, book 222, page 
125, which, with the rights and privileges appurtenant, 
are described in the Deed of the same to John W. 
Boott, Executor, recorded as aforesaid, book 353, p. 5, $1,500 00 

Thirty-nine shares in the Boston Manufacturing Com- 
pany, at $725 each, 28,275 00 

Seventy-one shares in the Merrimack Manufacturing Co., 
at $1,280 each, 90,880 00 

A note of William Lawrence, Esq., received in payment 
for the Mansion house, in Bowdoin Square, sold by the 
Executor and heirs to him, payable on delivery of the 
confirmatory Deeds, - - - $46,000 00 

Of which sum, $25,215.45 belongs to John W. 
Boott, Executor, being balance in his favor 
per account settled, - - - - 25,215 45—20,784 55 

Cash received from John W. Boott, - - - 4,560 45 



$146,000 00 



NO. XXXVII. 

Letter — E. Brooks to J. A. Lowell. 

Jan. 31, 1845. 
Dear Sir: 

I learn from Mr. William Boott that you have in your possession 
a letter from Mr. Kirk Boott, of Lowell, in which he says that at a 
meeting between himself, myself, and one or more other persons, it 
was agreed, with my assent, that Mr. Jno. W. Boott was justified in 



56 

placing his motlier's property in the Mill Dam Foundry. If Mr. 
Boott has understood you correctly, may I ask the favor of you to 
allow me to see that letter. Yours very truly, 

Edward Brooks. 

At Mr. Brooks' request, I state that the ahove information is cor- 
rect, as far as I understood Mr. Lowell in conversation yesterday. 

W. BoOTT. 



NO. XXXVIII. 
Letter — J. A. Lowell to E. Brooks. 

Dear Sir: 

My statement to Mr. Wm. Boott was that I had seen a letter from 
Mr. Kirk Boott, of Lowell, in which he says, in substance, that at a 
meeting between himself and yourself and one or two other per- 
sons, it was agreed, with your assent, that Mr. J. W. Boott was jus- 
tified in using some portion of the funds in his hands as executor, in 
business at the Mill Dam Foundry. 

That letter never was, except for a few hours, in my possession, 
and I took no copy of it. I will try to procure a copy of it or the 
original for your inspection. Yours very truly, 

J. A. Lowell. 

Jan. 31, 1845. 



NO. XXXIX. 

Letter — J. A. Lowell to E. Brooks. 

Boston, Jan. 31, 1845. 
Dear Sir: 

The following is an extract from a letter from Kirk Boott, Esq., 
of Lowell. 

Sunday evening. 
My Dear Wright: 

I intended to have had some conversation with you before my 
return home, but was too jaded last evening to attempt it. 

After leaving you yesterday morning I went to E. B.'s office, 
where Ralston soon after joined us. 

They both exonerate you from any selfish views in the manage- 
ment of the property, and admitting your undeviating economy, con- 
sider you have sacrificed yourself to the desire of helping others. 

By the provisions of the will you were authorized to use the 
estate in business — and while there is not, on any side, a shadow of 
suspicion that you have heedlessly squandered it, there can be no 
imputation on your honor or integrity, though it be in your hands 
greatly diminished. But this will not apply to F.'s children. We 



57 

are therefore of opinion that they must be paid in full at all 
events, and effected as soon as possible." 

This is all the letter contains on this subject. You will re- 
member that by a settlement afterwards made with Lyman and 
Ralston, Mr. Boott was exonerated from all the debts of the Mill 
Dam Foundry, and of course the fund was not diminished as Mr. 
K. Boott seems to have feared it might be. 

Mr. Robert Ralston, in a note on the same subject, says : "I can 
most fully confirm the statement in Kirk's note. No one at that 
time or during the whole negotiation subsequent thereto, ever im- 
peached your honor or integrity, or doubted that by your father's 
will you were at full liberty to employ the capital in your hands in 
business. I well remember that it was the opinion of Mr. Brooks, 
your brother Kirk and myself, that you had acted always in a most 
disinterested manner, sacrificing yourself for others " 

I am yours, very truly, 

J. A. Lowell. 



NO. XL. 

Release from Mart Boott and others. 

1, 1845. 



London, February 1, 1845. 
We, the subscribers, annuitants, devisees, or co-heirs of the will 
or estate of Kirk Boott, late of Boston, in the County of Suffolk and 
State of Massachusetts, Merchant, deceased, do hereby discharge 
and acquit John Wright Boott, Executor and Trustee under the said 
will, of all claims and demands which we severally have had, have, 
or may have, against him, in either of the above capacities. 

Mary Boott, (L.S.) 
Francis Boott, (L.S.) 
James Boott. (L.S.) 

Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of us, the word January 
being first erased, and Februiry inserted, Chas. Stokes, Chas. Han- 
der. 

Examined. H. M. Willis, Eeg. 

A true copy of record. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



NO. XLI. 

Letter — E, Brooks and W. Boott to C. G. Loring. 

Boston, 3d February, 1845. 
C. G. Loring, Esq., Trustee, &c. 

Dear Sir, — Having learned from Mr. Lowell that, owing to some 
misunderstanding as to the manner in which we intended the trust 

H 



58 

fund, belonging to the estate of the late Mr. Kirk Boott, should be 
made good, the last dividend on the shares in the Merrimack Com- 
pany has been added to the fund as principal, we request you to 
consider this dividend as income, and pay it as such to Mrs. Boott. 

We are, Dear Sir, 

Respectfully yours, 

Edward Brooks, 
William Boott. 



NO. XLII. 

Official Eeport of the Evidence at the Coroner's Inquest, 

Before Jabez Pratt, Esq., one of the Coroners of the County of Suf- 
folk, on the body of John W. Boott, Esq., found dead in a room in 
his house, on Friday, March 7th, 1845. 

Mrs. Mary Lyman, being duly sworn, testifies that the deceased, 
John W. Boott, is her brother, and that she resided with him ; has 
resided with him since March, 1845. Never has discovered any 
thing like insanity in him.* Her brother left the house last evening, 
(Thursday evening,) the 6th, about 11 o'clock, and was absent about 
twenty minutes, when he came in, and shortly after retired to his 
room. Did not see him or hear anything from him afterwards, al- 
though witness did not retire till 3 in the morning. 

- Mary Lyman. 

Ann O' Connell, being duly sworn, testifies that she lives with Mrs. 
Lyman, the preceding witness ; has lived with her since March, 
1844. Has seen Mr. Boott, the deceased, every day. Has not dis- 
covered anything uncommon in his appearance. Saw him go out 
last evening, (the 6th instant,) about 11 o'clock, and was gone about 
twenty minutes. Went to room of the deceased to-day, between 
11 and 12 o'clock, A. M. Supposed he might be sick, but found him 
lying on the bed, with a gun in his hands, apparently dead. Wit- 
ness then informed Mrs. Lyman. 

Ann C Connell. 

Jane Christie, being duly sworn, testified that she lived with Mr. 
Boott, and did the work in the family. Saw him every day. Never 
discovered any thing in his appearance indicating derangement of 
mind. Saw him last evening, at about 7 o'clock. Heard him go 
out about five minutes past 11, last evening. Deceased generally 
retired about 10 o'clock. Saw him write a letter yesterday after- 
noon. Was in the habit of calling deceased at 8 o'clock. This 
morning called him at 8, 9, 10, and 11 o'clock. At 12 o'clock, went 
in and found him lying on the bed, dead. Saw a knife in the room 
of the deceased, covered with blood, which belongs in the kitchen. 

* Here follow several words erased in the original. 



59 

Witness fastened the house last evening, and found it fastened this 
morning. Heard deceased go to a drawer in the kitchen last eve- 
ning, and immediately retire to his room. 

Jane Christie. 

John A. LoioeU, Esq., being duly sworn, testifies that he has known 
the deceased since 1815. Was in business with him in 1822, and 
continued with him for two and a half years. Deceased was in the 
habit of consulting with witness about his afiairs, more than any one 
else. Has not seen deceased for more than a week. Has never 
discovered anything indicating insanity in the deceased. Received 
a note this morning from Mrs. Lyman, requesting him to proceed 
immediately to the residence of the deceased. Took Dr. Jackson, 
and found deceased lying dead on his bed, with a gun in his hands. 
Received a letter about 2 o'clock, through the P. O., from deceased, 
in which he alludes to the act which he was about to commit. En- 
closed in the letter his will, made witness his executor, and gave 
minute directions concerning the distribution of his effects. His age 
was about fifty-six. J. A. Lowell. 



NO. XLHI. 



Letter — E. Brooks to J. A. Lowell. 

March 9, 1845. 

March 9, 1845. 
Mt Dear Sir : 

The letter which Mr. J. W. Boott wrote you on the last evening 
of his life, has, as you have informed me, several allusions to myself. 
As this letter is known to be in existence, although you have assured 
me that no one has seen it but yourself, it would afford me satisfac- 
tion, in the peculiar circumstances of the case, to be allowed to 
peruse it. Will you let me know by the bearer, whether I may be 
allowed to do so ? With great regard, 

Your ob't serv't, 

Edward Brooks. 
J. A. Lowell, Esq. 



NO. XLIV. 



Letter — J. A. Lowell to E. Brooks. 
March 9, 1845. 
Dear Sir: 

I am not prepared, at present, to consent to your seeing a letter 
which Mr. Boott, at so solemn a moment of his life, wrote to me, 



60 

without expressing a wish that it should be communicated to any 
one. It is written with great calmness, as befitted the occasion, and 
evinces no aberration of mind. I am, truly. 

Your ob't serv't, 
J. A. Lowell. 
Sunday morning, March 9, 1845. 



NO. XLV. 

J. A. Lowell's Petition for Peobate. 

To the Honorable Judge of the Court of Probate, for the County of 
Suffolk, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 

Humbly shows John A. Lowell, of Boston, in said County, that 
he is named and appointed Executor of the last will and testament 
of John Wright Boott, of Boston, in said County of Suffolk, Mer- 
chant, deceased ; who, at the time of making the same, was of full 
age, and of sane mind, and last dwelt in said Boston, where he died, 
leaving estate within this Commonwealth, whereby it appertains to 
your petitioner to administer said estate, according to said will, he 
having legal right to accept of said trust. 

Whereupon the said Executor herewith presents the same to your 
Honor, to be approved, allowed, and recorded, as the law directs ; 
and prays that administration of said estate according thereto, may 
be granted and committed to him, agreeably to the law in such cases 
made and provided. 

Dated at Boston, this tenth day of March, in the year 1845. 

J. A. Lowell. 

Examined by H. M. Willis, Reg. 

A true copy. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



NO. XL VI. 

Letter — F. Dexter to J. A. Lowell. 
March 11, 1845. 

Boston, March 11, 1845. 
Dear Sir : 

You will remember, that, on Monday, I called on you in behalf of 
Mr. Brooks, to repeat his req;iest that he might see the letter which 
Mr. J. W. Boott addressed to you just before his death. You de- 
clined complying with this request, for reasons which you then 
stated. I then suggested to you the measure of your writing a let- 
ter to Mr. Brooks, stating that Mr. J. W. Boott's letter contained no 



61 

charge against him, except such expressions as might naturally follow 
from the excitement of a personal difference, and which produced no 
effect on your mind. I stated to you that I was not authorized by 
Mr. Brooks to propose that measure, but that it occurred to me as 
one that would, probably, be satisfactory to Mr. Brooks. You an- 
swered, that you thought you should accede to that course, provided 
Mr. Brooks and Mr. W. Bootthad no design of opposing the Probate 
of Mr. Boott's will, on the ground of alleged insanity. To this I 
replied, that, although not authorized to answer for those gentlemen, 
on that point, I had no belief that either of them had the least incli- 
nation to disturb the will. There our interview ended, as I under- 
stood, with the expectation that I should inform you what were Mr. 
Brooks's and Mr. Boott's intention as to the Probate of the will. 

Since that interview, I have learned from the Coroner, that Mr. J. 
W. Boott's letter was exhibited by you to him, when you called on 
him to procure an inquest to be holden. The Coroner farther in- 
formed me, that he read the greater part of the letter, and was not 
restricted from reading the whole, and that, among other things, it 
contained a statement that the writer, Mr. J. W. Boott, had been 
driven to the act of self-destruction by unjust accusations of misman- 
agement of his father's estate. This I reported to Mr. Brooks, and 
have since had an interview with him and Mr. W. Boott, who now 
request me to say in their behalf, that, under the present aspect of 
the case, they must decHne pledging themselves to any course in. 
regard to Mr. J. W. Boott's will. They further request me, again, 
and under these new circumstances, to repeat the request, that they, 
or some friend of theirs, may see Mr. J.W. Boott's letter ; — but, if you 
should still decline acceding to that request, that you will preserve 
the letter, as it may be important to them hereafter. 

I will add, that, as you referred me on Sunday to Mr. Loring, as 
your counsel, if I came in the capacity of Mr. Brooks's counsel, (an 
office which I then hoped to be able to avoid,) I have since called 
on Mr. Loring, who will state to you what was said between us. 

I am, respectfully, yours, &c., 

F. Dexter. 
J. A. Lowell, Esq. 



NO. XL VII. 



Letter — C. G. Loring to F. Dexter. 
March 12, 1845. 

To Franklin Dexter, Esq. 

My Dear Frank, — Mr. Lowell handed to me your letter, address- 
ed to him in behalf of Mr. Brooks and Mr. William Boott ; — and, 
as they have elected this mode of communication, instead of a direct 
one by themselves, there seems an obvious propriety in my under- 
taking the reply in behalf of my friend and brother. And I trust 



62 

that, by our intervention, an early end may be put to the agitation 
of these most painful subjects. 

In that letter, you state that those whom you represent must de- 
cline pledging themselves to any course in relation to the Probate of 
Mr. Boott's will, in consequence of a statement made by Mr. Pratt, 
the coroner, " that he had read the greater part of the letter ad- 
dressed to Mr. Lowell by Mr. Boott just before his death ; — that he 
was not restricted from reading the whole ; and that, among other 
things, it contained a statement that the writer (Mr. J. W. Boott,) 
had been driven to the act of self-destruction by unjust accusations 
of mismanagement of his father's estate." Upon reading to me this 
letter, Mr. Lowell expressed the greatest surprise at these allega- 
tions, — assuring me that the letter had neverbeenout of his hands; 
that he had only read such portions of it to Mr. Pratt, as were neces- 
sary to show that Mr. Boott had intended and inflicted his own 
death, and which he considered it his duty to read to him for that 
purpose, — the office of the coroner being to ascertain whether the 
deceased came to his death by his own hands, or those of another; 
and that the letter contains no such statement as represented in your 
note; and that he never made or suggested any proposal or wiUing- 
ness that the letter should be read by Mr. Pratt, excepting in reply- 
ing to his request that he (Mr. L.) would have it with him at the 
inquest, when he assented to producing it there, if called for ; under- 
standing, as is obviovisly true, that the jury would have the right to 
demand its production and perusal, if judged necessary. And fur- 
ther informed me that, at the inquest, the letter was not unfolded; 
though, in reply to the inquiry whether he had one, he answered in 
the affirmative, and took it from his pocket ; the jury thinking it not 
necessary to require knowledge of its contents, excepting in some 
particulars relating to the question of Mr. B.'s self-destruction, which 
were stated in the testimony of Mr. L., the minutes of which you 
have seen. 

Upon this statement, I suggested the propriety of immediately 
sending for Mr. Pratt, who, in reply to my question as to what had 
passed, and without an intimation of what your note contained, or of 
any point between the parties, made the following statement, in 
presence of Mr. Lowell, Mr. Webb, and myself, and of which Mr. 
Webb took notes, though I was not aware at the time that he was 
doing it : 

" Mr. Pratt said, that he had received three or four calls on this 
matter, from Mr. Dexter, Mr. Robert C. Hooper, and others, and was 
asked whether he had seen Mr. Boott's letter ; that he answered, 
* that he did see it; that Mr. Lowell opened the letter in his pres- 
ence, and read to him some extracts, or repeated some portions of 
it ; that the letter stated that he made Mr. Lowell his executor, gave 
some directions about the distribution of his effects, and alluded to 
the intention of self-destruction " 

" That they asked him whether he had heard or seen any thing 
in the letter about Mr. Edward Brooks, and that he answered. No ! " 

" That he had told them that something had been heard by him 



about difficulties in the family, but he could not say whether he got 
this idea from the letter or not." " That at the inquest, the jury 
asked the coroner whether he had seen the letter, and he told them 
that it was opened in his presence ; that he then inquired of Mr. 
Lowell if the letter alluded to the suicide, and he said it did." " That 
at the inquest Mr. Lowell stated that Mr. Boott's accounts had been 
disputed, but that they had been passed, and he (Mr. L.) had sup- 
posed that his mind was relieved upon that point. That he (Mr. B.) 
would have been entitled to a large sum on the decease of his 
mother. That he (Mr. L.) had advised Mr. Boott to retire into the 
country upon the sale of the mansion house, and had offered to ad- 
vance to him the means of building himself a place ; and that he did 
not know of any recent cause of trouble." " That Mr. Dexter was 
mistaken in saying that he (Mr. P.) said that he saw or heard the 
greater part of the letter ; that it was a very long letter, and very 
little was read to him." 

" And at the close of the conversation, he added that he did not 
know until this moment that Mr. Brooks's name was mentioned in 
the letter ; and that Mr. Lowell had never mentioned Mr. Brooks's 
name in his presence, excepting in reply to the question who were 
the members of Mr. Boott's family, and has no idea, now, whether 
the allusions are favorable or unfavorable." 

You will perceive, therefore, dear Frank, that you must have mis- 
apprehended Mr. Pratt, in your interview with him ; and it occurs 
to me, that this may be satisfactorily accounted for, by your con- 
founding an expression from him that he could have seen the whole 
letter, if he had chosen, (and which his official station at the inquest 
gave him unquestionable right to do, if he had seen proper to de- 
mand it,) with an idea that his ability to have seen it arose from an 
offer or wiUingness on the part of Mr. Lowell, to submit it volunta- 
rily to his inspection, no duty requiring it. Nothing could be farther 
from his thoughts or feelings ; and any one who knows his exceed- 
ing caution and accuracy, and quickness of perception, in such mat- 
ters, would not credit the suggestion for a moment. 

Mr. Lowell stated to me his reasons for declining to exhibit Mr. 
Boott's letter, which had escaped your recollection or notice at our 
interview, and they seem to me most just and proper; and I can 
hardly think that you and I should differ about them. I hardly need 
assure you, that I have a very hearty friendship for Mr. Brooks, and 
should rejoice to be useful in terminating any unhappy feelings that 
he may entertain towards my friend, whom I now represent, and 
who I know has sedulously endeavored to avoid getting entangled in 
the controversy in Mr. Boott's family, and to mitigate the excitement 
on either side, feeling a constantly expressed regard for all, and an 
unwillingness to hear the accusations of either. He is now, how- 
ever, placed in a peculiar position, as the representative of the 
deceased, whom he most highly respected and dearly loved, and 
must pursue the course demanded by that respect and affection; 
while he trusts that it will cause no further uneasiness, or any un- 
kindness on the part of those who may differ from him in opinion. 



64 

Renewing my assurances of earnest desire to conduct this matter 
with you as one of my closest friends, and with the understanding 
that we may act as the mutual friends of both parties, 

I am, as ever, yours, 

C. G. LORING. 

March 12, 1845. 



NO. XL VIII. 

Letter — F. Dexter to C. G. Loring. 
March 13, 1845. 

Boston, March 13, 1845. 
My Dear Friend : 

I wrote you in haste last evening, and again this morning, in rela- 
tion to the accuracy of my statement of what was said to me by 
Mr. Pratt, the coroner. I now state, in brief, that I am quite sure I 
reported Mr. Pratt correctly, in substance, with the single doubt 
whether he said that Mr. Boott stated in terms that the unjust accu- 
sations against him had driven him to suicide, or whether those 
accusations were stated in such connection as to lead to that infer- 
ence. If the latter was the case, it is a mere verbal difference. 

I have shown your letter to Mr. Brooks, and he thinks, — in which 
opinion I concur, — that it requires no answer on his behalf. On my 
own account, I have a few words to add.* Yours, &c. 



F. Dexter. 



C. G. Loring, Esq. 
* Of these no copy was kept. 



NO. XLIX. 

Letter — F. Dexter to Edward Brooks. 
September 14, 1845. 

Boston, Sept. 14, 1845. 
My Dear Sir: 

There cannot be any doubt that the letter* which Mr. J. W. Boott 
addressed to Mr. J. A. Lowell, on the day of his death, contained a 
charge of dishonesty against you ; for when I called on Mr. Lowell, 
at your request, on the Sunday succeeding Mr. Boott's death, to ask 
that you might see that letter, I made the request to Mr. Lowell dis- 
tinctly, upon the ground that he had told you that the letter con- 
tained such a charge. I urged, that after such a declaration from 
him, you had a right to see the letter. Mr. Lowell did not deny that 
the letter contained such a charge, nor that he had told you so ; but 
declined showing it, on the ground that it was confidential, and that 



65 

he had not mentioned to any one else that it contained any charge 
against you. I think it is impossible he could have answered 
as he did, if in fact the letter contained no such charge ; and I am 
quite surprised that there should be any question of it. 

Mr. Lowell, in the course of the interview, offered to make some 
statement to me relating to the letter, confidentially; but having 
called as your friend, I declined hearing it, if I were not at liberty 
to repeat it to you. 

I do not remember what point he proposed so to state ; indeed, I 
doubt if he went far enough to enable me then to understand. 

On my repeating to him my wish that you might see the letter, or 
that he would give an explanation of its contents, Mr. Lowell said that 
he should not object to saying in writing, that the letter contained 
no charge against you of dishonesty in pecuniary matters, but only 
such things as one man says of another, with whom he has a quar- 
rel, and that it had not produced any effect on his, Mr. Lowell's, 
mind. This statement, however, Mr. Lowell said he would make 
only on condition that neither you nor Mr. W. Boott should dispute 
the probate of Mr. J. W. Boott's will. Yours very truly, 



Franklin Dexter. 



Edward Brooks, Esq., Boston. 



NO. L. 

Affidavit of Edward Brooks, 

In the matter of the Probate of a certain paper, offered as the Will of 
John Wright Boott, deceased, the validity whereof is contested by 
Edward Brooks, and Eliza, his loife, in her right; and upon the 
written motion of the said Brooks and wife, for the production of 
a certain paper in the possession of said Lowell. 

The said Edward Brooks makes oath, and says, that his said wife, 
Eliza, was a sister, &.nd is one of the heirs at law, and next of kin of 
the said John Wright Boott, deceased ; that he, the said Edward 
Brooks, was intimately acquainted with the said deceased, for many 
years of his life ; and that long before the making of the said paper 
offered for Probate as a Will, he, the said Brooks, had become satis- 
fied, from the acts, declarations, conduct, and behavior of the said 
deceased, that he was insane ; and that he, the said Brooks, thence- 
forward, until the time when the said deceased destroyed his own^ 
life, continued to be well satisfied of the insanity of the said de- 
ceased, and has constantly believed, and now verily beHeves, that 
the said deceased, at the time of the making of said paper, so offered 
for Probate, and long before, and thence to the time of his death, 
was not of sound mind ; and especially that he was insane, and 
labored under constant delusions concerning several of his nearest 
relations, now heirs at law and next of kin of the said deceased, who 
are wholly unprovided for, and disinherited by the said paper offered 



66 

for Probate as aforesaid, and the said Brooks verily believes that the 
said paper, so offered for Probate, was made by the said deceased, 
while so insane ; and that the disposition of property therein direct- 
ed, so far as relates to some of the persons above mentioned, was 
caused to be so directed by his said insanity of mind ; the said 
Brooks further says, that soon after the death of the said John 
Wright Boott, he is informed, and believes, that a coroner's inquest 
was held over the body of the said deceased, and that the said John 
A. Lowell appeared as a witness at the said inquest, and, among 
other things, there testified to this effect : That about two o'clock of 
that day, being the same day on which the deceased was found 
dead, he, the said Lowell, received the said paper, which he now 
offers for Probate as a will, through the post office, and that the same 
was enclosed in another paper, addressed to him, the said Lowell, 
and that the said Lowell produced the said last mentioned paper be- 
fore the coroner at the said inquest, and without reading the same, de- 
scribed the said paper as a letter, in which the deceased alluded to 
the act of suicide he was about to commit, and enclosed his will, 
and spoke of the witness as his executor, and gave him minute direc- 
tions concerning the distribution of his effects ; and the said Brooks 
further says, that he verily believes, that the said letter, if produced, 
will be found to contain divers statements, which, connected with 
other evidence, will tend to prove, and which are highly material to 
enable the said Brooks and wife to prove, that the said deceased 
was insane at the time of the making of the said supposed will, and 
especially insane concerning certain of his relatives, as aforesaid ; 
and that the said will was made under the influence of the insane 
delusions under which the said deceased had long labored in that 
regard; and particularly, that the said letter will be found to contain 
statements to the effect that Mrs. Mary Lyman, one of the sisters of 
the deceased, (and who, as said Brooks believes, was the only per- 
son, except the domestics, in the house with the deceased, being her 
mother's house, for about one year next preceding his decease, but 
whom, as said Brooks beheves, the said deceased, during that whole 
period, would neither see nor speak to, nor permit to be for a mo- 
ment in the same room with him, nor to maintain any intercourse 
with' him whatsoever,) was, by her own consent, and upon the pro- 
curement of him, the said Brooks, placed and kept in said house, to 
act as a spy upon him, the said deceased ; and also, that the said let- 
ter charged that he, the said Brooks, was a dishonest man, and 
labored to convince the said Lowell thereof; and also that the said 
letter purported to give a history of certain alleged dissensions, and 
of his, the said deceased's supposed grievances therein. And the 
said Brooks says, that the principal of the said deceased's supposed 
grievances in the matter referred to, were, as said Brooks had been 
informed in the lifetime of the deceased, supposed plots and con- 
spiracies against him, to which the said Brooks and wife were par- 
ties ; and the said Brooks believes as aforesaid, concerning the con- 
tents of the said letter, because, soon after the said inquest was held, 
he had, in company with William Boott, a brother of the deceased, 
a conversation with said Lowell, respecting the circumstances at- 



67 

tending the death of the deceased, and respecting the said letter, in 
which conversation the said Lowell stated and admitted each of the 
several matters above mentioned, as supposed contents of the said 
letter, to be among the matters therein contained. And the said 
Brooks has also heard and believes, although he has not been so 
informed by the said Lowell himself, that the said letter contained 
further statements, to the effect that the deceased was about to de- 
stroy himself on account of the persecutions of some of his relatives 
or connections. 

And the said Brooks further says, that if the said letter contains 
the statements aforesaid, or any of them, or any like statements, that 
the said statements will be found upon inquiry, and due proof, to be 
so utterly destitute of any reasonable foundation in fact, that the 
same could only have proceeded from such insane delusions as afore- 
said, and are themselves strong evidence thereof, and that some of 
the dispositions of property made by said supposed will, to which 
said letter refers, were made under the influence of such insane de- 
lusions as aforesaid. And the said Brooks verily believes, that the 
said letter, if produced, will be found to contain other evidence, 
which has not been disclosed by said Lowell, of insanity, on sub- 
jects to which the said letter refers, and especially on the subject of 
the supposed will, enclosed in said letter, and the disposition of 
property therein contemplated, and directed, and that said letter will 
make known and expose, or enable the said Brooks and wife to ex- 
pose, the insane and delusive grounds on which the said supposed 
will was made, and the property of the said deceased ordered to be 
disposed of to such persons and in such manner as is directed in and 
by the said supposed will. Edward Brooks, 



Suffolk, ss. Boston, Oct. 28, 1845. 

Then personally appeared Edward Brooks, above named, and 
made solemn oath that the foregoing declaration, by him subscribed, 
is just and true. Before me, 

Phineas Capen, Jus. Peace. 

A true copy of a paper writing on file in the Probate Office, Suf- 
folk Co. Attest, H. M. Willis, 



NO. LI 

Affidavit of J. A. Lowell, 

In the matter of the Will of John W. Boott, late of Boston, in the Coun- 
ty of Suffolk, Merchant, deceased, — Before the Honorable Willard 
Phillips, Judge of Probate, Sfc. Sfc, in and for the County of Suffolk. 

John A. Lowell, of Boston aforesaid, merchant, respectfully pro- 
testing that this Honorable Court hath not the power to compel him 



68 

to produce any paper not testamentary, on oath deposes and says, 
that the paper inquired of does not purport to contain any testamen- 
tary disposal of any property whatsoever. That the paper inquired 
of is simply a letter addressed by the said John W. Boott to myself, 
and signed by hira, but not attested by any subscribing witness. 
That it appears from its contents to have been written by the said 
John W. Boott to me, as his friend, and merely to inform me con- 
cerning certain things which he wished me to know from him. That 
matters are contained in, or alluded to, in the said letter, which could 
only be addressed by one friend r,o another friend, in the confidence 
of friendship, and that the said letter was written, and designed by 
the writer, to be received, and was in fact received, under circum- 
stances which make its contents a sacred trust confided to this de- 
ponent by the deceased ; that this deponent verily believes, and has 
at all times, since he first read the same, believed, that neither in the 
hand writing, nor in the style, nor in the statements made, nor in the 
reasoning contained in said letter, is there any thing, to the knowl- 
edge or belief of this respondent, which tends to show that the said 
John W. Boott was not of sound and disposing mind and memory 
at any time ; but on the contrary, this deponent verily believes, and 
hath always, since he read the said letter, verily believed, that the 
said letter strongly tends to prove that the said John W. Boott was 
sane when the same was written ; and this deponent verily believes 
he was at all times of sound and disposing mind and memory ; that 
this respondent was applied to in behalf of the said Edward Brooks, 
and requested to make known to him the contents of the said letter, 
immediately after the decease of the said John W. Boott, and this 
deponent was then assured that it was not the intention of the said 
Brooks to contest the Probate of the said will. Nevertheless, this 
deponent then declined, as he now most respectfully declines 
to produce the said letter, because he feels bound to do so by 
the obligation of a trust, which he verily believes the deceased 
intended to, and did confide to him; and this deponent craves 
leave to refer to a letter from the said Brooks to himself, and a copy 
of his answer thereto, in confirmation of the facts above stated. 

J. A. Lowell. 



Suffolk, ss. Boston, Oct. 28, 1845. 

Then personally appeared John A. Lowell, named in the forego- 
ing affidavit, and made solemn oath, that the same, subscribed by 
him, is just and true. Before me, 

H. M. Willis, Jus. Peace. 

A true copy of a paper writing filed in the Probate Office, Suffolk 
County. Attest, H. M. Willis, Register. 



69 



NO. LII. 

Letter — J. A. Lowell to Messrs. Gardiner & Bartlett. 

Messrs. W. H. Gardiner and S. Bartlett : 

Gentlemen, — For the reasons expressed at large in my affidavit, 
presented to the Court of Probate in the matter of Mr. Boott's will, 
I must respectfully decline acceding to your request that I would 
permit you to inspect and take a copy of the letter written to me by 
Mr. Boott, the evening before his death. 

I am, respectfully, &c. 

Boston, January 17, 1846. J. A. Lowell. 



NO. LIII. 

J. A. Lowell's Plea to Bill of Discovery. 

Supreme Judicial Court Suffolk, ss. 

Mary Lyman vs. John A. Lowell. 

The Flea of John A. Lowell to the Bill of Complaint of Mary Lyman. 

This defendant, by protestation, not confessing and acknowledg- 
ing all, or any, of the matters and things in the said complainant's 
bill mentioned, to be true, in such manner and form as the same are 
therein alleged, doth plead thereunto, and for plea doth say, that this 
defendant, having been named in the said will of the said John W. 
Boott, as the Executor thereof, did present the same for Probate, as 
is stated in the said bill, but afterwards, and while the said matter 
was still pending before the Honorable the said Judge of Probate, 
and before the appeal aforesaid had been taken by the said com- 
plainant, this defendant did decline the said trust of Executor of the 
said will, and did duly make knoivn to the said Judge that he did re- 
sign, up, and decline to execute the same, and thereupon Francis C. 
Loring, of Boston aforesaid, Esquire, was duly appointed by the said 
Judge, the administrator, with the will annexed, of the goods and 
estate which were of the said John W. Boott in his lifetime ; * and 
from and after the time of such appointment, this respondent ceased 
to he a party to the said proceedings, and has not since, in any way, 
or manner, intervened therein, as a party thereto ; and this de- 
fendant further says, that he is not in any manner, or to any extent, 
interested under the said will, nor can, by virtue thereof, have, or take 
any legacy, or other thing whatsoever, this defendant having abso- 
lutely assigned, transferred, and. conveyed all his right, title, and interest 
in and to the same, unto Anne Ralston, wife of Robert Ralston, of the 
City and County of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, mei- 

* This allegation will be found not sustained by the fact. The appointment was pro- 
posed, but never made, as the records of the Probate Office show. 



70 

chant, all whicli matters and things this defendant avers to be true, 
and pleads the same to the discovery sought by the said bill, and 
he prays the judgment of this Honorable Court, whether he ought 
to answer the same, and for his costs. J. A. Lowell. 



Suffolk, ss. Boston, 26 March, 1846. 
Sworn to before me, Ed. G. Loring, Jus. Peace. 

A true copy. Attest, Geo. C. Wilde, Clerk. 



NO. LIV. 



J. A. Lowell's Petition, 
For leave to withdraw his Resignation, and Order thereon. 

To the Honor ahle Willard Phillips, Judge ojT Probate Jbr the County of 

Suffolk. 

The reasons which made it necessary for me to resign the execu- 
torship of the will of the late John Wright Boott, Esq., no longer ex- 
isting, I respectfully petition to be allowed to withdraw my resigna- 
tion. J. A. Lowell. 

Boston, Dec. 14, 1846. 

Suffolk, ss. 

At a Probate Court, held at Boston, in said County, on Monday, 
the fourteenth day of December, in the year 1846, upon the forego- 
ing petition, Ordered, that said Lowell have leave to withdraw and 
revoke his resignation of the appointment of Executor of the last 
will of John W. Boott, and that he be, and he hereby is empowered 
to act under said appointment, and to administer the estate of said 
testator, under said will, according to the provisions thereof 

Willard Phillips, Judge of Probate. 

Examined. H. M. Willis, Reg. 

A true copy. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



71 

NO. LV. 

Letters Testamentary, 
Issued Dec. 14, 1846. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

By the Honorable Willard Phillips, Esquire, Judge of the Court of 
,^ ^ ^ Probate within and for the County of Suffolk: To all unto 
^ ■ '' whom these Presents shall come, Greeting. 

Whereas, at a Probate Court held at Boston, in said County, on 
Monday, the twenty-eighth day of October, in the year 1845, the 
will of John Wright Boott, late of said Boston, Merchant, deceased, 
to these Presents annexed, was duly proved, approved, and allowed : 
who having, while he lived, and at the time of his death, goods, 
chattels, rights and credits, or estate, in the County aforesaid : the 
Probate of the said will, and the power of committing administra- 
tion upon the estate of said deceased, doth appertain unto the Judge 
of said Court : 

Know ye, therefore, that I, Willard Phillips, Judge as aforesaid, 
by virtue of the power and authority in me vested by the laws of the 
said Commonwealth, do hereby commit the execution of said will, 
and grant administration of all and singular the goods, chattels, 
rights, credits and estate of the said deceased, in the Common- 
wealth aforesaid, unto John A. Lowell, of said Boston, merchant, 
Executor in the same will named and appointed, well and faithfully 
to execute the same, and to administer the said estate of the said 
deceased according thereunto; and in all things pm-suant to law; 
and to direct the said Executor to make a true and perfect inventory 
of all and singular the real estate, goods, chattels, rights and credits 
of the said deceased, and to exhibit the same upon oath, into the 
Registry of the Court ef Probate for said County of Suffolk, within 
three months ; and also to render a plain and true account of his 
proceedings thereon, upon oath, within one year from the date 
hereof. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and the seal 
of the said Court of Probate. Dated at Boston, the fourteenth day 
of December, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-six. 
Willard Phillips, Judge of Probate. 

Countersigned, H. M, Willis, Reg. 



Suffolk, ss. 

I order the above-named Executor to give public notice of his 
appointment to and acceptance of that trust, by publishing a notifi- 
cation thereof three weeks successively in the Boston Daily Adver- 
tiser, printed in Boston, within three months, and make return 
thereof to this office, on oath, within one year from this date. 



72 

Given under my hand this fourteenth day of December, in the 
year one thousand eight hundred and forty-six. x 

WiLLARD Phillips, Judge of Probate. 
Countersigned, H. M. Willis. 

Examined by H. M. Willis, Reg. 

A true copy. Attest, H. M. Willis, Reg. 



NO. LVL 



Letter — E. Brooks to J. A. Lowell. 
July 8, 1847. 

Boston, July 8th, 1847. 

Sir, — I have discovered, within a few days, that you took upon 
yourself to sign the release of all claims on the late Mr. Jno. W. 
Boott, on behalf of the family of Mr. Kirk Boott, of Lowell, deceased, 
in this form : " John A. Lowell, for himself and Edward Brooks, the 
other trustee."* Be good enough, sir, to let me know on what sup- 
posed authority you made this use of my name, after I had expressly 
declined signing such a paper in that capacity. 

I shall expect an answer without delay, as you must have been 
aware, for some months past, of my determination to hold you re- 
sponsible for the course you have thought proper to take in relation 
to the affairs of the late Mr. John Wright Boott, so far as I am con- 
cerned. Edward Brooks. 

* The form of the simature is not quoted with exactness in the above. It should have 
been, " John A. Lowell, for himself and Edward Brooks, Trustees under the will of Kirk 
Boott." See the Doc. No. 30 of the Appendix. 

[To this letter, no answer has been received.] 



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